


As Long As It Takes

by jla2016



Category: Actor RPF, Captain America (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-14 10:57:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 54,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14768283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jla2016/pseuds/jla2016
Summary: "I'll wait for as long as it takes, as long as I get you at the end"You meet Sebastian Stan on the street in New York. What starts off as a fan encounter stretches to an unexpected coffee date and before long you're caught up in a whirlwind and left with an internal struggle of what to choose.





	1. The meet.

"You guys know I hate shopping. I'm going to head back to the park and walk around. Just text me when y'all are finished."

You hated shopping-a rarity in a woman, yes you knew. You were loving your vacation in New York with your two best friends. It was a vacation you all desperately needed for the country fields of little Hicktown NC could become stifling at sometimes. You had all been to Central Park already during your trip, but you couldn't get over how beautiful and large it was. You didn't see parks like this back home. All of the parks you had back home were either so rundown that the most activity they saw were drug deals or kids out to work on their "art," or they were so overrun with annoying and spoiled brats that you steered clear of them too. This park, on the other hand, was filled with people -all kinds of people- and was the breath of fresh air (almost literally) that you needed and reminded you why you loved coming to this city. Central Park was nothing but a beauty. It didn't matter that everything was dead because of the cold winter weather, you found the beauty in that. While the trees had lost their iridescent blankets of leaves, the sight of bare brown branches did nothing but remind you of the beauty that would soon return to them and the promise of a fresh start. 

As you walked through the park, you saw runners making their way quickly despite the air that had a bite to it. You had to admire their tenacity and dedication. You couldn't be paid to be out here running, it was chilly enough just walking. As you thought this, you automatically shrugged your peacoat closer around you and reshuffled the scarf around your neck to help retain the heat of your body. Even though you wanted to retain as much heat as you could, you could never quite stop yourself from reverting back to your childhood by releasing air from your lungs into the cold air and being able to see it. It had never failed to fascinate you so you decided that after the runner approaching you passed, you would be a kid again even if for only a second. You took a deep breath as he passed and looked into the sky and released the air and marveled as it left you and reached towards the heavens. You chuckled lightly at yourself and looked down as you continued to walk. 

You were lost in your thoughts as you walked before you began humming "Haven't Met You Yet" as it randomly popped into your mind. Typically you had music going at all times, but walking through the park, it was almost as it had its own soundtrack and before now, you didn't feel like interrupting it. However, it wasn't long before your mind's soundtrack was quickly averted by the sight of a dog charging you. You stepped back a little but before you could move, the dog was jumping on you. As silly as it sounded, you had a fear of unknown large dogs after being attacked at a young age. You quickly figured out however that this dog was friendly and meant no harm was just excited. You crouched down and smiled as the dog, whose tag you saw said "Chloe," places it's paws on your knees and attempted to lick your face. 

"Hi, Chloe!" You said laughing. "How are you? Where's your parents, huh?" 

The dog's tail whipped faster as you began talking to her and laughing. You looked from the direction the dog had come and seen a man running at you and shortly heard him shouting from a distance, "oh my-I'm so sorry! Chloe! Come here!" he finished off as he slowed down to avoid running into you. You watched Chloe, as she turned and looked at him, but then jumped on you instead, causing you to bust out laughing before you responded: "It's alright, she's sweet."

You still hadn't gotten a good look at him but as he continued to apologize, you looked up and saw his face better, then it hit you. Your whole body went stiff and the air seemed so stifling that your lungs might collapse.

In front of you stood the one and only Sebastian Stan.


	2. The Surprise.

Did your eyes deceive you? You had to be dreaming. You had hoped for a moment to run into him during your trip but you never thought it'd actually happen. You looked up at the luminous smile, glistening blue eyes, and fiercely cut facial structure that was cast down at you kindly. You noticed quickly as your eyes flicked down to Chloe jumping on you how his shoulders, chest, and abs pronounced themselves even under the space cadet blue sweatshirt he wore. You avoided the sweatpant clad thighs, you didnt want to pass out right there. You knew how beautiful Sebastian was, but up close, no picture or film could ever compare to or capture the artistry of one Sebastian Stan.

You realized your jaw had gone slack and attempted to quickly play it off and stand. Of course, you being clumsy and on edge because of who was standing in front of you, not to mention that Chloe seemed to want to jump on you again, pawing at your shins, you didn't quite get your footing right and your body veered to the right and towards the ground, but Sebastian caught your elbow to steady you. You muttered your thanks, thoroughly mortified.

"Chloe, no, sit," he began and to the good God above, his voice was nothing but silky velvet tickling your ears. "I'm so sorry. You would think after 2 years of telling her what to do, I'd have her trained by now. I figure she's going through her rebellious teenage phase...that's a good enough excuse right?" he snickered.

You joined in his laughter and swatted at the air, "Seriously, it's not a big deal. I completely understand. My Brantley secretly gets drunk now that he's 21 and pees everywhere in the house for seemingly no reason. He's still in his rebellious phase. It happens," you completed your thought, surprised how calm and collected your response had been. Note to self, give Brantley some extra love for saving you.

"Thanks for being so understanding. I'm Sebastian, by the way. I didn't catch your name," he stated as he reached forth his hand to shake yours.

"Oh, yeh, sorry, I'm (y/n)," you relayed as you shook hands, praying he didn't realize how clammy your palms were. "It's lovely to meet you, and so lovely to meet you too Chloe!" you said as you reached down and shook the paw she had stuck on your knee. She looked from you, almost seeming to smile, to Sebastian and back.

You didn't know what else to do or say and couldn't help yourself, "Look, I know this is going to be strange but I actually have something I need to run by you....uhh just give me a sec," you stated as you looked above his head trying to picture the words you were attempting to conjure in your mind. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe I'm going to do this. Forgive me in advance," you asked, laughing at yourself. You noticed his eyes had widened and he had started to gain a small and mischievous smirk, that concealed his impeccable stainless teeth, but only just.

"Uhh, okay, ahhhh, by the way, please, please don't be offended by this. I dont want to offend you at all...okay, ahhhh mi....mi-ai....ahhhh...mi-ah res....respira....mi-ai respira?" You stumbled through trying to say two Romanian words, taking about 30 seconds, that felt like 3 minutes, when it should probably take about 1 second. As you struggled, you saw the confusion shroud his face, but luckily by the end, his smirk had returned.

"Are you attempting to speak Romanian to me?" He flashed you the mischievous smirk again, but this time it spread into a smile and your breath literally caught in your chest.

"Attempting would be the key word to all words, yes," you busted out laughing.

He joined you in laughter then requested you to repeat what you had asked. You went through the struggle again, Sebastian repeating after you to put it together then when you finished, he scrunched up his face in confusion and asked "did I just breathe?"

"Yes!!" You were so excited, but quickly added when you saw the confusion still there, but slightly less than before, "there's more!"

He looked at you patiently as you attempted to picture the rest and repeat what you had heard from Google translate.

"Okay...this one's longer, so please bear with me....again, I'm sorry," you giggled. "Alright, let's see.....vi se rev....revarsă.....vi se revarsă cu talent şi...cu talent şi eu.....eu te admir......so ahm...vi se revarsă......cu talent și.....eu te admir. Yeh!"

Again you repeated and he followed suit. When he figured out what you had said, his eyes brightened and his smile was reminiscent of many you had seen in the interviews he had done with Anthony Mackie for CAWS. Your heart began to melt right then and there.

"Wow. Thank you so much. You have such a talent with Romanian that I now admire you." He looked at you trying to keep a straight face, but as a colossal laugh broke through your lips, so did laughter burst forth from him.

Chloe had finally settled down during your translation party. Apparently the two of you were boring her, as she had laid down at your feet, but as the laughter had exploded she stood back up and barked, wagging her tail. She apparently found the situation comical as well and wanted to join.

As you continued to laugh, smiling down at Chloe in the process, you explained, "I can't take all of the credit, of course. I actually got the idea from a Tumblr post with one of Craig's lines,in Parks & Rec,...and of course my wonderful language teacher, Google translate.....now that I think about it, it would have just been easier to put it in there and play it for you instead of torturing your brain. I'm a teacher though, so I guess that's what comes naturally." You returned your eyes to Sebastian as he spoke.

"It also wouldn't have been a third as entertaining or as special though."

"I guess that's true too...but yeh it's from Craig, he's so hilarious. Please tell me you know who I'm talking about?"

"Uhh, no sorry. I haven't watched that show before," Sebastian explained.

"WHAT!? Oh my goodness, you have to watch it! It's sooo good! The characters are so well portrayed by the actors. The jokes are great. Every character is endearing in their own way the entire show. So many shows have their sucky seasons but Parks & Rec doesn't. It's amazing from start to finish! Oh, but Craig comes from Eagleton, Pawnee's biggest enemy, and he is over the top about everything! It's SO funny! I mean, absolutely hilarious. You would think he'd exceed the term annoying, and in real life he probably would, but there's something about his character that it's just side-splitting humor. Billy Eichner....I think that's how you pronounce his name plays him and it's just fantastic. Oh my gosh, I can't even explain how funny he is, I'll show you really quick. It won't take long, am I keeping you from anything?"

He shook his head to say "no, and even if so, you've caught my interest and have to see what all the hype is about."

You felt yourself blush just slightly, smiling in reply, "okay, just give me a second, let me try to find something on youtube."

You whipped out your phone from your pocket and in your haste continually kept typing the wrong letters. You finally just let youtube figure it out. You clicked on the video that said "all scenes", not paying attention to the time. Once the video started you angled the screen towards Sebastian. You angled your body towards him without actually moving closer to avoid any awkwardness. Instead, however, he stepped closer, partly behind you on your left side. As if your heart wasn't already beating 237 miles per minute, now you literally felt like it might explode out of your chest. You attempted to remain calm, cool, and collected, but you were fairly certain that not only could he hear your pulse beating, but could feel the heat, heat warm enough to keep anyone warm in -9°F weather, radiating off of your body.

After about 2 minutes and four scenes in (you about busting a gut in laughter), you noticed it was an almost 10 minute long video. "Oh crap, this is like 10 minutes long." You reached to stop the video, but Sebastian stopped you by saying, "no, this is hilarious, I want to see the rest," so you stood there continuing to watch dying laughing while Sebastian laughed beside you.

By the time the video ended, you were wiping tears from under your eyes as Sebastian moved so that you were facing each other again.

"I'm sorry, I know not everyone finds Craig as funny as I do, but he just gets me. He cracks me up everytime he speaks! I hope you found it at least slightly entertaining, even if you didn't find it as funny as I did."

"No, seriously, (y/n) it was actually pretty funny."

"Right!? Now you just need to watch the entire show. You know, when you have time," you explained as you slightly chuckled.

"Well, in all seriousness, I just want to tell you that I think you're a truly talented actor and individual. Thank you for sharing your talent with the world. As silly as it sounds, it brings sunlight, so to speak, to my day. I'm sorry I took up so much of your time. Thanks for tolerating my ravings," you laughed again at yourself before turning your attention to Chloe and stooping down to her level. As you did, she excitedly stood and looked at you expectantly with what appeared to be a smile on her face as you said, "and it was so wonderful to meet you too sweet girl!" You smiled and rubbed Chloe's head affectionately. Her blue eyes twinkled, even on this cloudy day. A smile spread across your face as you admired her beautiful smoky topaz and creme colored coat and stood back up to your full height. You brought your eyes up to meet Sebastian's as you put forth your hand to shake his. "Thank you, again, it genuinely has been a privilege to meet you. Have a wonderful day!"

He smiled and shook your hand. "The pleasure's all mine. You have a great one as well."

You smiled as you began to walk past him, forward on your previous journey, ready to squeal your head off and immediately text your friends and tell them...for which they'd probably forever hate you because they didn't get to meet him, but oh well.

Just then, to your surprise, you heard "(y/n)."

You turned and met Sebastian's magnificent blues which seemed almost as surprised as yours must look.

"Would you want to get a cup of coffee?"


	3. The basics.

You were in shock. Literal shock. Everything in that moment froze. You didn't notice the birds chirping, the brown squirrel Chloe was staring at, the busy sounds of New York traffic, or even the people walking past. All you could focus on was the look on Sebastian's kind and lustrous, slightly blushing face. The aglow and slightly questioning look in his eyes, the way the somewhat longer tendrils of hair that were exposed out of his baseball cap moved with just a minuscule amount of wind. You only saw him, standing in all of his radiance, waiting for your answer, your brain refusing to function and give a reply. The glimpse of the smallest shift in his eyes and face, showing...what regret, slight sadness....confusion...

"Yes, (y/n), confusion!! You are just staring at him without answering anything! Answer him before he thinks you're a complete idiot unworthy of his time! What are you doing right now!? Answer the man!!!!!" Somewhere your mind, body, and soul seemed to scream at you.

"Uhh, sorry! I was debating if I've had too much coffee today or not..." you blatantly and horribly lied.

Sebastian's face flickered again with an emotion you didn't recognize, but he masked it quickly.

You realized you didn't actually give him an answer when you spoke a moment ago. "I haven't. I haven't had too much. One can never have enough coffee," you said hurriedly, before finishing more slowly, "that is of course if there is a ready restroom available." You attempted to laugh but it came out more of a quiet squawk. You, like many people, tended to try and deflect uncomfortable situations with humor.

Sebastian laughed almost musically, Stephen Sondheim should be contacted about that laugh.

"So is that a yes?"

You chuckled, "yes, it is, I'm sorry, yes."

Chloe must have understood what was going on because she began barking and wagging her tail in excitement, all attention to the squirrel gone. Sebastian jerked forward in surprise as Chloe ran towards you. He caught his footing right before he fell.

You realized that throughout the entire exchange, neither of you had moved closer to the other, almost as if you both had been waiting with bated breath for the decision that was to be made.

You tried not to laugh at him, but he was just too darn cute. Laughter spilled out of your closed lips in spurts when Sebastian looked at you, mocking being shocked, but he couldn't contain himself either and busted out in laughter. At seeing you both laugh, Chloe just started running back and forth between the two of you out of pure joy.

"That's not fair! I didn't laugh at you when you almost fell," he said as he continued to laugh with you.

"Maybe not, but I'm not that nice of a person, nor do I have that type of control. Thank you for not laughing at me earlier, though."

"Alright, so how about that coffee? Hopefully with no injuries accompanying us."

"Yeh! Let's do it! You'll have to lead the way, though, even though I'm sure you can tell by listening to me that I'm totally from the North," you smiled slyly.

"Great," he agreed and began to lead the way. "If you like Starbucks there's one right down the street from here we could go to. I actually need to stop and drop Chloe off at my place because they won't allow her inside if that's okay?"

"Of course not! Not a problem at all. I will miss her company, though," you stated as you looked down at her, and to your surprise, she was looking up at you as you three walked. Is she part human? How does she know what's going on?

"By the way, yes, it's completely obvious you shouldn't need help navigating the city, as your accent fits perfectly in Brooklyn," he returned to the joke noticing he hadn't mentioned anything before.

"Yeh, you know, anytime I tell people I'm from up North, they're never surprised at all," you responded in your second language, sarcasm.

Sebastian chuckled and asked, "seriously, where are you from originally?"

"Well most of the time people ask me if I'm from the mountains of Tennessee, but I'm actually from the flatlands of NC. I'm not sure how I ended up with an accent like this. No one had such a strong accent like me in school or anywhere in my family. I have deducted that I enjoyed imitating the Dixie Chicks too much when I was a child and the accent stuck. But yeah, I'm from good ol' NC born and raised. I stick out like a sore thumb here if I speak aloud."

He looked down at Chloe and smiled at your words. "So you live here now," he asked with something in his voice that you didn't quite recognize. A small part of you thought it might be hopefulness, but you knew your brain was crazy and played tricks on you often so you brushed it off and answered instead.

"No, sadly not. Well partly sad. I don't know. When I first visited the city a few years ago, I decided after spending a week here that I could never live here. To me, it felt like a cold city-not weather wise, like it is today," you laughed mid-explanation, "but like...in the South, you pass people on the street and say hello, or you pass them on a two lane road and you do the little one or two finger wave from the steering wheel, whether you know them or not. That kind of warmth just didn't seem to be here and I felt like it'd just be a very cold and lonely place to live because I'm not the most extroverted person. This time around, I don't know, it's a possibility, maybe one day..." you drifted off thinking about the possibility before realizing you hadn't fully answered the question. "I'm actually just here taking a little vacation with friends," you added.

"I see. Are you enjoying it? Where are your friends?

"I am, actually. We got in Saturday morning so we've been able to do a decent amount of exploring. Last night we went to see Wicked, and oh my goodness, I've been waiting for years. It was amazing!! Of course, I'd prefer it with Idina and Kristen...you like how I'm on a first-name basis" you laughed out loud at your silliness. "I am enjoying the feel of being back in the city, to be honest. That may sound weird to just enjoy the feel of being somewhere...but I'm weird so it's okay".

You noticed he had slowed down walking so you slowed as well, looking at him expectantly.

"This is my stop," he said but then paused. "You're welcome to come up if you'd like."

You felt like he was asking to be polite and that was understandable wanting to keep his privacy, so you told him you'd wait for him there.

He looked at you for a moment, looking like he was trying to decide what to do so you encouraged him again.

"Seriously, it's okay. I'll be here on this park bench," and you sat down, leaned back, and crossed your legs to prove your point.

He snickered before replying quickly, "okay if you're sure. I'll be right back," but he couldn't get Chloe through the door. She refused to go through no matter how much he called her. She was staring you down so you got up and went to where she was sitting, kneeled down beside her and starting patting her head and scratching her back reassuringly.

"I'll see you later Chloe! I loved meeting you! You're going to be a good girl and go with your daddy, right!? Have a good rest of your day." You then whispered to her, but still loud enough for Sebastian to hear. "If you're too mad, I give you permission to trash one of your daddy's throw pillows, okay" you smiled at her before Sebastian started laughing.

"Thanks for that. I'm probably going to come back to a completely trashed apartment now."

However, to the surprise of both of you; Chloe got up and stood beside the door waiting for Sebastian to open it.

You both laughed as they went in the door and you went back to the park bench. He didn't lie, he was back in about 5 minutes.

"You ready, (y/n)?"

Drawn from your thoughts, you nodded and stood, following his lead.


	4. The coffee.

He hadn't lied about the distance. After two blocks you saw the beautiful deep green sign. Your nose felt frozen and your eyes began to water as a gust of air hit you right before you entered the coffeehouse. Maybe visiting New York, as a Southerner, the week before Christmas wasn't the best idea, but you had figured if you could survive the winters of the North Carolina mountains, you could survive New York.

The aroma that slammed into you upon entering warmed you even more than the actual heat in the store. You would never understand how people didn't enjoy coffee, or at the very least, the smell. You grew up smelling coffee every morning as your grandparents drank it in preparation for the day. Some days, when you were still in elementary school before the bus arrived, you'd even get to drink a cup before school. Of course, you'd make up for any weekdays missed, on Saturday morning, your grandmother letting you drink up to three cups. At the time you probably drank more sugar and creamer than coffee, but thankfully your taste buds had matured with you. Now you preferred your coffee strong enough to cause an earthquake, even if it was only inside your chest from the caffeine boost.

The shop had quite a bit of artwork in it, more than what you typically saw. With this being New York, you couldn't help but wonder if they were displaying local artists work. One piece caught your eye. It initially appeared as a photograph, but as you drew nearer, it was actually a painting of the Brooklyn Bridge, the very beauty you had finally seen and walked across that very morning. You weren't sure why, but walking across that bridge you felt free like that little bird mentioned by Jenny in Forest Gump. You felt like at any time you wished, you could jump and fly far far away if you wanted. You reminisced about that time this morning before Sebastian's voice pulled you away, but it was a welcome change.

"If you'll tell me what you'd like...which hopefully isn't too complicated," he chuckled, "I'll get the drinks if you would like to choose a table?"

"Oh well, thank you, you don't have to, though, I don't mind waiting. I was just admiring that painting over there," you explained for your seeming lack of interest.

"Which one," he asked before you told him the black and white painting with the Brooklyn Bridge in purple. "Oh, yeah, that is a good one. But it's fine, I'll get the drinks if that's okay."

You laughed quietly, "Sure, okay, now the big question is what do I want?" You rubbed your chin in thought, for grinning mischievously at him. "Okay, fairly simple right?"

"Good heavens, please don't give me one of those 25 step orders," he rolled his eyes and sighed, but you could tell the idea of ordering a complicated drink made him nervous.

You couldn't help but laugh at him and reply "okay, okay, let's just do a grande quad hazelnut latte. Simple enough?"

He repeated the order to you and then agreed that it was simple enough. You began to reach into your bag for your wallet. As you pulled it out, his eyes grew larger.

"Really? You know you're not paying, right?"

You looked up at him shyly, "well I was going to give you the money for mine, yes."

"No, you're not. I got it," he said as he pushed back the money you had taken out.

"Really, you don't need to do that," you explained, not wanting him to think you expected him to pay. Sure, the price of a cup of coffee was probably nothing to him, but that was beside the point.

"Yeh, I do. If you'll just find us a table, that'll be great."

"Well thank you," you said before making your way to a corner table below an abstract splatter art painting.

You sat and tried not to make yourself too nervous. Although he had been nothing but copacetic, and discussion had flown freely between the two of you, there were still plenty of nerves that were bottling up in you.

After a few moments, he made his way over with your drinks.

"Iced coffee on a cold day like this?" You asked.

"You know, I pretty much always get Iced, it's very rarely I actually drink hot coffee from Starbucks," he expounded.

"Any particular reason?" You couldn't help but ask, but he shook his head and replied: "not really".

He quickly moved into asking about your current and previous trips to the city to begin the conversation.

You gave an account of this trip thus far before moving backward. You explained how your friends, Caroline and Beth, and you wanted to see NY at Christmas and needed some time out of NC, including aspects of your trip thus far, spending the most time on funny stories. Then moving back in time, you revealed about the most recent trip with Caroline to NYC during college. You definitely didn't skip out on the fights you had that resulted in one of the funniest moments of the trip. Nor did you fail to include how you were able to meet Tom Hanks, shortly after being completely embarrassed concerning seeing one of your all-time favorite characters, Jack McFarland, played by Sean Hayes. You also excitedly told him about how great Jersey Boys was and how the original cast member, John Lloyd Young had reprised his role when you went and how amazing it all was.

He let you tell your stories, laughed at your jokes, and seemed to enjoy your experiences, reliving them with you.

You tried not to ask questions about him that seemed too personal, but that didn't seem to be an issue because he addressed questions you wouldn't ask.

You both shared things from childhood and items that you wouldn't typically share with strangers, but for some reason with each other, everything flew so freely. Even though you had just met, the level of comfort with each other was abundant.

He told you some funny stories about things happening on the set of the CA movies, including a couple of embarrassing stories about Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie. You were actually surprised by the level of trust he had in you not to go back and spread the stories to the world.

By the time the conversation found a break, you both realized that nearly 4 hours had passed and you were both parched as your drinks had been long gone. Sebastian offered another drink and your throat was so dry that you accepted. As he went to order, thankfully only one person was ahead of him in line. You turned over your phone and saw that you had 45 text messages and 27 missed phone calls from Caroline and Beth. You had texted them while Sebastian had taken Chloe up to his apartment, explaining in a rush you had met and were getting coffee together.

You knew when you had sent the message that they'd probably be upset. They would have wanted to meet him as well...and while they were your best friends, you couldn't help but be happy that you had met Sebastian alone. You noticed that Sebastian was making his way back to the table so you quickly just answered, "I'm still at Starbucks with Sebastian. I'll contact soon. Sorry!"

By the time Sebastian sat down, your text clearly must have gone through because your phone started going off and you couldn't hide it quick enough. You tried to flip it over, apologizing "I'm sorry. My friends apparently didn't accept my saying that I'd contact them later," you attempted to laugh it off.

"Don't apologize, its been 4 plus hours since you spoke with them so I imagine they're probably worried."

"...are you sure? It's a pet peeve of mine when people are too involved with their phones when they're at social gatherings, so I try to follow the same idea."

"(Y/n), please, it's fine and completely understandable. Please answer."

You nodded and just barely caught the call before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?"

"(Y/n)!!!" You almost threw the phone across the coffee shop attempting to escape from the volume that just attacked your ear drum. You quickly turned the volume down as low as it would go, but knew it wouldn't help much. "Yes, I'm here. I hear you. The whole coffee shop heard you, good heavens."

"(Y/n), you met Sebastian Stan!? You're WITH Sebastian Stan!? You're having coffee with Sebastian Stan!? Where are you!? Are you still there!? Where have you been!? (Y/n), ANSWER ME!!"

You couldn't help but roll your eyes, "I would if you'd let me get a word in. Yes, yes, and at the coffee shop," you tried to answer all the questions she had asked, but inconspicuously so as Sebastian wouldn't pick up on the questions...hopefully.

"Starbucks with Sebastian Stan, yes I figured that out" Beth snapped, "but where!?" Caroline joined in.

"I don't know," you replied simply.

"How do you not know!?" Caroline blurted, flabbergasted.

"Oh, I don't know, Caroline, because as much as I hate it, I'm a tourist in a city of millions of people with Starbucks on every corner just about. That's how I don't know," you answered back, getting annoyed, but attempting to handle things without any anger erupting from either side.

Sebastian picked up a little bit on what was going on, laughing.

"Fine, well we just wanted you to know that we're going back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, but that's fine," Beth said. "Yeh, stay with Sebaaaasstian, completely ignore us," Caroline added.

"Okay, well I appreciate that. I'll catch up with you guys soon, okay?"

You bid your goodbyes, but you knew when you three got back together you would literally never hear the end of it.

"I'm so sorry about that," you offered, but Sebastian just grinned.

"(Y/n), don't worry about it. Everything okay?"

"Yeh, they just wanted to let me know they were headed back to get ready for dinner."

"Oh, it is getting about that time, isn't it?" He said, glancing at his watch. "I'm sorry I took up so much of your time. I was enjoying the conversation so much that I didn't want it to end."

"Oh no! I loved it too! You did not take up my time at all. Please don't think that."

"I wouldn't mind meeting your friends either..." he admitted what seemed like partially reluctantly, but why you didn't know. "They seem pretty entertaining, to be honest."

"Well they are, that's for sure....so, if I told them where they were and they met us here, you wouldn't mind? Is that what you're telling me?"

He cackled at your tone before answering "Yes, (y/n), that's what I'm saying. It's okay to meet your friends, as long as you're okay with it."

"Sure, and in case I need to apologize, I apologize in advance," you laughed as you finished.

You called Caroline and she answered on the first ring. "See, that's how you answer a phone when you're visiting NYC, Ms. None of us should walk alone because something might happen," she said bitterly.

"If you want to be like that, you can forget the coffee invite," you teased.

"What!? What!? You're serious?"

"Yes, where are you guys?"

Beth squealed in the background as Caroline explained that they were about to get on the subway at the 50 Street stop to go back to the hotel but would stop and figure out where to head.

"Where you need to head? Ahhh," you pondered aloud before looking at Sebastian who seemed to be trying to hold back his laughter.

"You're on Columbus Avenue, near 73rd."

You grinned in appreciation, repeating to Caroline and Beth where the coffee shop was located. You stayed on the line with them as they looked at the map and figured out where they had to get off at. They figured out it was a quick and just about straight shot from where they were so it wasn't long before you heard "okay, we're on the way! Oh my gosh, we're going to meet Sebastian Stan!"

You simply hung up before loud squeaking ensued and your ear drum was busted.

You couldn't help but acknowledge Sebastian's gracefulness. "Thank you so much for offering to meet them. They're really excited....in the off chance you couldn't hear it. Although, I'm fairly certain that every Filipino in the Philippines could hear their excitement," you finished saying with a snort.

"As I said before, I'd like to meet them. It's really not a big deal."

The two of you continued talking, mostly Sebastian listening to descriptions of your friends because he wanted to try and figure out who was who without introduction.


	5. The offer.

Beth and Caroline passed the window and saw Sebastian and you sitting there. You didn't see them, but Sebastian noticed them walk in and look in the direction of the table, seemingly unsure whether to approach or not.

"I think they're here," he said as he grinned at you and nodded in their direction.

You turned around and saw them looking slightly lost so you excused yourself and walked over.

"Hey," you beamed at them since you were turned away from Sebastian. "Why are y'all standing over here? Going to get some coffee first?"

"Well, we didn't know, y'all looked pretty cozy when we walked by, we didn't know whether to interrupt or not," Beth said mischievously while Caroline agreed and winked at you.

"Oh, shut up. We did not, we were just talking, come on!" You grabbed their wrists and practically dragged them to the table. You could feel their pulses starting to beat faster at the thought of meeting Sebastian. You also noticed that Sebastian had pulled two extra chairs to the table after you had left. How was he so precious!? When you got back across the coffee shop and to the table, Sebastian was then sitting back down. You smiled at him, sure your eyes were literally glittering like that bunny Snapchat filter. "Thank you for getting the extra chairs."

"Not a problem," he smiled and stood again to reach out his hand. "Hello, how are you, ladies?"

Beth didn't say a word, simply stared at him with a big smile on her face. Sebastian reached to shake her hand first. "I'm Sebastian, you must be Beth. It's great to meet you." Beth simply nodded and stuttered out a nearly silent, "yeh, you too."

Caroline was also smiling, but she reached out her hand to shake Sebastian's, saying at the same time, "so I guess that makes me...." she teased waiting for his answer.

"Caroline, great to meet you! Yeh, technically I only have so many options to choose so I suppose once one is guessed, there's not much skill left to show is there?"

"Unless you were wrong," Caroline said simply but with humor.

You started to laugh a little at your best friend's statement but the look on Sebastian's face made it 50 times more funny. He had sprung back a slight bit from her, clearly taken aback with the snarky comment, but had smiled nonetheless, before looking at you and grinning wider. "No, you're definitely Caroline with a response like that."

You all three just laughed as Beth still stood there smiling but not really understanding what was going on. She was still lost in the moment. Boy, did you know the feeling. This whole day had been one of those moments.

"I've got to go to the bathroom," Beth finally found her words, then looked at you and Caroline which meant that the girl's pack had to travel as such.

You smiled as you shrugged at Sebastian and followed Beth and Caroline to the restroom. As you passed him, you mouthed a simple "sorry," but he just chuckled and looked down. Why? Why did he have to be so perfect in every way!?

Barely in the restroom, which was a one person restroom you quickly found, Beth let out a shriek that could surely be heard even outside of the coffee shop. "I can't believe I just met Sebastian Stan and made a complete fool of myself! Can we please leave? I'm sorry, (y/n), I just made a fool of myself and I'm hungry and the best way to deal with it is to find some food. Please, can we leave now!?" By the time she finished she was almost in tears.

You couldn't help but feel sorry for her and if we were being honest, you knew your time with Sebastian had to end sooner or later. This would forever be one of the best days of your life. However, you couldn't stop yourself from saying "yes, we can leave but if you just hang around him more, it gets easier. He's so real. He's laid back and easy to talk to...clearly." You smiled to yourself, relishing in your memories of the day, but then turned your attention back to Beth.

"Maybe so, but right now I just feel foolish," she replied sadly.

"Alright, well let's go out and let him know," you said, trying not to sound melancholy about it.

"Y'all go ahead, I'm going to go out and I'll meet you when you finish," said Beth.

She headed out of the bathroom first, trying to bypass Sebastian but it was impossible.

"Hey, Beth is everything okay," he asked, noticing the tears in her eyes.

"....yes, it's....I'm sorry....I just.....I'm fi-" she tried to say but instead was cut off by a hug from Sebastian who saw she was struggling and had a feeling it was because of him.

"Look, it's okay. It's all good. Please don't worry about it. You've clearly worried enough today over (y/n), and that's so nice of you by the way, that you shouldn't worry about anything else." He pulled back to look in her face as he told her "y'all go have some time together at dinner. Have some laughs and don't worry about anything else today. Can you do that for me?"

Beth smiled and nodded. "Thank you for being so understanding. (Y/n) said you were."

Before she could share anything else, you and Caroline had caught up and were surprised to find her talking with Sebastian. "Oh, hey..." you said unsure of what to do or say due to the fact you had no clue what happened.

"Do you have plans for dinner?" Beth asked Sebastian.

He looked unsure of what to say, his eyes flickering to yours in uncertainty. "Ahh, at the moment, no, I don't think I do."

Beth quickly answered, to the shock of the three of you, "well you do now. Have dinner with us, will you?"

Again, Sebastian's eyes flicked to yours, then Caroline's and Beth's, and back to yours again. This time, you didn't miss the chance to give him a reassuring smile.

"Sure, that'd be great...as long as that's okay with you guys. I don't want to intrude on any girl time or anything."

Was this really happening?? You had spent the majority of your day with THE Sebastian Stan, who at this point just felt like your old friend Sebastian, but now you were going to have dinner together too? With two of your best friends in tow? What. Is. air!?

You all grabbed your coats and scarves from the chairs, Sebastian returning the chairs he had borrowed to the proper tables and grabbing the trash from the table before you could do so. He threw it in the receptacle before the four of you walked out. When you stepped out, you began walking and discussing what to do for dinner. Beth and Caroline led the way, even if they were unsure of where they were going, while Sebastian and you followed behind, side-by-side.

"Well, we had Bubba Gump yesterday and that expensive breakfast this morning. I was planning on something cheaper tonight," Caroline mentioned.

"I was thinking the same thing, but Mr. Stan if you have any suggestions, I think we'd be open to that," Beth followed up.

"First, please don't call me Mr. Stan. Sebastian is just fine. Second, it would depend on what you guys were in the mood for. If you're wanting something on the cheaper side, I do have an idea, but I don't know if you'd be interested." He glanced at you as he said the last part.

"Sure, we're definitely open to ideas," Caroline spoke for them....hopefully she was right.

Sebastian hesitated before pitching the idea, worried it might seem a little forward considering you had all just met. "...Well, if you're wanting something cheap, we could, if you'd like of course, and were comfortable with it, go back to my place and we could order pizza and watch a film. There's this amazing pizza shop down a few blocks from my apartment that delivers."

You weren't sure why he had been so nervous as he mentioned the idea. You would just assume because he was nervous about losing privacy to strangers, so you attempted to whisper to him.

"You don't have to do that, you need your privacy. Besides you don't know us, we could be crazy stalker people who would go back and tell all the paps everything."

"You're not are you?" He simply asked, grinning all the while.

"No," you couldn't help but return his grin. "But seriously please don't make yourself uncomfortable."

"As long as you're around, I don't think the term uncomfortable has any meaning in my life."


	6. The Exit.

As Sebastian's apartment was in the opposite direction, when everyone was agreed, your group turned around putting you and Sebastian ahead of Caroline and Beth.

When you recognized you were about to be at the apartment, you swung your head around and excitedly said, "oh my goodness!! You guys get to meet Chloe!! She is the best!"

Beth and Caroline looked at you confused and you realized they thought you meant a female, not a pet, but decided to let them find that out themselves. Sebastian got to the door of the building and opened the door for you all. He led the way to the elevator and when you all got to his door, Chloe was heard barking at the door once she heard Sebastian's key in the slot. Once he opened the door, Chloe saw you and bounded towards you. You knelt down and petted her until her tail was wagging so fiercely that it seemed she about could have put a hole in the wall.

Once in, you all made yourself at home on Sebastian's comfy furniture after ordering the pizza. After browsing the film choices you all settled on a new action flick that had just been released. As you all watched the movie, you couldn't help but begin to yawn as it had been a long day. You knew it was only about halfway through the film when your head fell back onto the head couch cushion. You woke up right before the end credits, realizing that Sebastian had put his arm behind your head and you had curled into his side. This realization made you alert immediately and sleep quickly left you. The film ended and everyone began to stretch, a clear sign that sleep was setting in upon them.

As you all stood and stretched more, you said: "I guess we better be getting back."

"Yeh, I'm about to pass out," Caroline agreed, rubbing her eyes.

"I'll call you ladies a cab if you'd like," Sebastian said and reached for his phone.

"You really don't have to do that," you objected uselessly, as he was already speaking with someone.

When he hung up, he said "of course, I don't have to, that isn't enough. I'll make sure you all get back safely if you don't mind me riding along?"

You were still partially embarrassed about how you had awakened but attempted to not show it. You must have succeeded because Sebastian quickly went to grab his coat after reviewing your reaction.

The ride back to 24th Street was fairly quiet. Exhaustion was settling in and you were reminiscing about the day. You didn't want it to end, but you knew that fairy tales didn't truly exist and this was nothing but. When the cab arrived at the building, Caroline and Beth climbed out of the cab before you and Sebastian stepped out of the other side to bid farewell. 

As Caroline and Beth shook hands, saying goodbyes, and turned to walk away you couldn't help yourself. You stepped to Sebastian, with tears in your eyes, and he seemed to read your mind as he opened his arms and the two of you embraced. The wintry evening air might have had a bite to it, but in Sebastian's arms, you had nothing but warmth flowing from the deepest parts of your soul and spreading seemingly out into the atmosphere.

"Thank you so much for today. It has literally been the best day of my life and exceeded any dream or expectation I could have imagined," you mumbled into his chest as the tears silently fell down your cheek, slowly soaking into his chest.

He pulled you away from him, holding you gingerly by your shoulders "wait, you think I don't plan to speak or see you again, do you?" he questioned with eyes wide and mouth agape.

His eyes, darting between your own, were all you could focus on as your heart and mind burst like one of those confetti bombs at the possibility that he would want to see you again.

"(Y/n), the only way this will be the last time we see or speak to each other is if you choose it. I want to see you again. I want to spend more time with you. Today has been the most enjoyable day I've had in quite a while."

You were shocked by his words and as much as you hated it, more tears approached the rim of your eyes and began to spill over, but this time they were produced from the overflowing joy in your heart, instead of sadness. Sebastian pulled you again into his chest and ran his hand from the top of your head down to your shoulders repeatedly in a comforting motion.

"Please tell me I'll see you again? Tomorrow, maybe?"

You couldn't muster words, but you smiled and nodded into his chest a "yes".

_______________

Sebastian became a frequent addition to the group for the remainder of your time in New York. He joined in on seeing the touristy things he had seen a thousand times just to spend time with you and showed you all hidden treasures of the city. On a few occasions, upon Caroline and Beth's encouragements, you and Sebastian spent time alone, walking in the city, enjoying each others company, making each other laugh by doing stupid things, and joyfully arguing over who the best member of Team Cap was (He, of course, said Bucky as you had argued that Steve/Cap/Chris couldn't be included. He thought you would agree with him and was mock-appalled that you argued for Scott/Antman/Paul all the way). 

Saturday morning met you all before you could even realize it was happening. Sebastian wanted to see you off so he had arranged for a vehicle to pick you up and take you to JFK to catch your flight. After some small talk at the beginning of the ride, Caroline slipped off to sleep and Beth was drawn into her phone. You leaned close into Sebastian, partly so that you could be in close quarters with him, partly so that you could look at everything you passed trying to literally soak up everything to store in your brain and heart forever. You were sad to leave, it was the last thing you wanted, even if you were somewhat happy to be seeing your family in a few hours for Christmas Eve festivities. When you saw the signs for the airport, your body tensed and Sebastian sensed as much. He grasped your hand, intertwining your fingers and kissed the top of your head to try and comfort you. The moment didn't need words, everything you both wanted to say...it was said, wordlessly.

When getting to the airport, the driver assisted you all in retrieving your luggage and the four of you headed through the airport doors, out of the cold, as the driver pulled the car to the waiting area for Sebastian. Much like the first night you all had hung out together, Beth and Caroline said their goodbyes before giving you and Sebastian privacy for your own farewells.

Instead of a wordy farewell, you embraced for an extended period of time, savoring the moment, and when you parted, Sebastian simply said, "Call me when you land."

You nodded before turning to walk away as your hand slowly left his and tears streaked down your face.


	7. The Following.

It was strange how a two-hour flight felt like 12 hours and 10,000 miles. Your face was tear stained until you fell asleep about 20 minutes before landing. No matter how much Caroline and Beth attempted to comfort you, nothing helped.

When you landed and retrieved your things you got to the vehicle and text your family to let them know you were leaving the airport and would let them know when you got home, and also when you were on the way to the Christmas Eve festivities. You had considered calling but your voice and stuffy nose would betray you, informing them that something was wrong. You did not feel up to talking about it.

You tried to decide whether to call or text Sebastian. You didn't want him to know you were still upset, but he specifically asked for a call so you clicked on his picture, one you had taken at the park when you two visited with Chloe.

Despite the cold and hard ground, you'd both sat down on a blanket Sebastian had grabbed from his apartment before walking out the door and played fetch with Chloe. He had laid back to look at the sky and examine the clouds, looking for snow, when you had snapped the picture. He looked content in it as if it were his idea of a perfect moment. This look didn't last long because just after you took the picture Chloe came bounding up and on top of Sebastian wanting him to throw the ball again.

You reminisced before hitting "call". He answered on the first ring.

"Hey, you get there alright?"

"Hey. Yeh, we did."

Beth looked in the rearview mirror and turned the radio up slightly to give you some privacy.

"We're leaving the airport now. Are you on your way to your parents?"

"Yeh, actually. I left about 20 minutes ago, only a few more hours to go," he attempted to laugh but it came out more of a cough that was being choked out.

"Well be safe and let me know when you get there, please," you told him.

"I will. The same goes for you..."

An awkward silence entered the conversation...the first since you'd met...neither of you seemed to want to hang up, but didn't know what to say either.

"I miss you, (Y/n)."

"I miss you too, Sebast-." Your voice betrayed you as your throat constricted, trying to hold back the sob approaching your throat.

He wanted to help, not make things harder so he acted like it didn't happen and quickly said, "I'll text you soon, (y/n), okay?"

You nodded your head before remembering that it wouldn't help, but he seemed to know anyway. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." You could hear the grin at the end before you both hung up.

You weren't sure why, but somehow you felt better, like a breath of fresh air had been breathed into your lungs.

________________________

Christmas Eve and Day passed. You enjoyed your time with your family but your mind often went to Sebastian. Of course, it hadn't helped that Sebastian had text you multiple times throughout the days just to start a new conversation because it had been a few hours since you'd last spoken. Due to being with families, calls were avoided, but Monday afternoon, Sebastian couldn't keep himself from hearing your voice any longer.

His calm face flashed across your phone on your kitchen table as you were folding laundry. You smiled, answering the call,and putting it on speakerphone. "Hello?"

"Hey! I hope I'm not interrupting your family time."

You laughed. "No, I'm home now. My social senses were past the point of being overloaded. I had to come on home. I think between crowded NY and then surrounded by family the past two days, it was a little too much. I needed some time to myself."

"How long does it typically take for you to feel back to normal?"

You shrugged, despite that Sebastian couldn't see you. "Oh, well, there's no way of knowing. Depending on how long I've been surrounded, it could be a few hours, a day, or a couple of days. Why?"

"I was just wondering. How are you feeling now? Are you feeling any better yet?"

"Yes, much better now." You couldn't help but blush, speaking slyly so that hopefully, Seb would catch your double meaning.

The two of you continued your conversation by discussing the holidays with your families and your plans for the day and the upcoming week. Then there was a pause on Sebastian's end.

"Are you still there," you asked, looking quickly at your phone, taking it off of speaker, and putting it back to your ear. "Seb?"

"...hey! That's the first time you've called me that." He was smiling, and it sounded like a big one which made your eyes crinkle in response.

You tried to brush quickly past it, but he wasn't going to let it go. "(Y/n), you can't just call me by a nickname for the first time like it's nothing! What's next, becoming roommates?"He laughed at his own corniness as you rolled your eyes.

"So why the long pause there, Mr. Jif.?"

"Mr. Jif?"

"Just ignore it, it was as lame as your attempt at a joke. Move on, what was the long silence about?"

"Well...I was trying to decide whether to pitch an idea to you or ask you something, rather."

His voice had become small by the end of the sentence, voice quavering, but full of questioning. This wasn't something that you had heard before from Seb. He had been so sure of himself ever since you'd met, but thankfully not in a cocky or arrogant way.

"You can ask me anything, Sebastian. What's your idea?

"...Well, I mean...there's no pressure or anything. I will completely understand either way....if it makes you feel uncomfortable....or....you don't want to....or even if you're not-"

"'Seb, spit it out. You're making me nervous at this point."

"...Fine, I'm just saying..." He seemed to sense your growing annoyance and jumped in. "I was wondering if you'd like to spend New Years together?"

You were shocked, enough so that your eyes bugged and your jaw dropped. Thank God Seb couldn't see you because you know he would have busted out laughing in your face.

"Uhh, I'm sorry. What did you say?"

He chuckled, hearing the shock in your voice. "Would you like to spend New Years together?"

"...I mean...sure....yes...of course!"

"Really? Are you serious? We're going to do this?" His voice was no longer small. but excited and even singsong.

You couldn't help but giggle. He sounded like a kid on Christmas morning, yelling for his parents to wake up as he ran towards the Christmas tree, ready to unwrap his presents at supersonic speed.

"Yes, I'm serious. Did you have a plan in mind?"

The two of you discussed how this plan would come to be. It was decided that you would return to New York, flying up on Wednesday and returning on Sunday, New Year's Day, since you had to be back at work Monday, plus it would give you extra time to spend together. While Sebastian had offered to come down to NC, you insisted that you wanted to experience a New York New Year's...as long as you were nowhere near Times Square. You'd prefer to pull a RENT and watch the ball drop from some tv store many blocks away, maybe not in Alphabet City, but close enough. Once everything had been discussed the two of you hung up so that flights and arrangments could be made. Besides, you had to pack and it would surely take every hour until you left to find the perfect outfits to wear. This was going to be an unforgettable trip...you were waiting to wake up from this splendid dream.

___________________

The next day and a half seemed to drag on for the both of you, despite that you spent most of it on the phone or face timing and discussing what your days were consisting of while also tossing around ideas of how to spend your time over the next few days.

On Tuesday evening, you made the call you had been dreading, a call to your parents to let them know you were leaving town again. You were an only child and even though you were grown and had been living on your own for quite some time, you still felt the urge to check in with them when traveling, and they wanted you to as well.

"Hey Dad, how are you?"

"I'm good. How about you? What are you up to?"

"I'm good. I'm uhhh, packing...which is why I'm calling. ....I'm actually going back to New York tomorrow for a few days. I just wanted to let y'all know..."

"What do you mean you're going back to New York? You just got back. How, why, and with whom are you going back to New York with?" Your dad asked vehemently.

"I'm going up there to spend New Years with a friend."

"A friend? Like who?

You supposed you couldn't hide it forever. "Yes, I am, no I haven't, but it isn't exactly easy for me to be kidnapped or anything. Plus, he's not like that. We actually spent a lot of time together last week. Plus, it's not like that,Dad. We're just friends, nothing more. We really got to know each other last week and we just want to hang out more. That's it."

"(Y/n), you're grown so I can't tell you what to do, but I'm asking you not to do this. You don't know what could happen."

"Dad, I appreciate you worrying about me...ugh, fine. I didn't want to mention who it is, but maybe that'll help. It's Sebastian Stan. We met last week and quickly became friends and we just want to get back together. He asked me up and I accepted."

"Sebastian Stan? As in Marvel actor, Sebastian Stan? You're not serious."

"Yes, Dad I'm serious."

"(Y/n), I'm sure he seems nice, but please don't do this. You don't know him, and if he hurts you in any way I'll go to New York and kick his ass. I'd rather not end up in a lawsuit or prison, but I'll take care of it if he hurts you."

"Dad, look. I love you. I know you'd go take care of it, but we're just friends. That's it. That's all we're ever going to be. I'm going, okay. I'll let you know when I get ready to leave tomorrow. My flight is set to leave at 8:45."

He sighed and resigned to telling he loved you he loved you and bid you farewell.

The next day you woke up and got ready. It took you about an hour to get to the airport which meant you needed to make coffee before you left, pick up a second coffee on the way, and buy another coffee at the airport.

You called Seb when you got to the airport to let him know you were there.

"I'm probably going to be shaking when you see me. I'm in line to get my fifth cup of coffee this morning. I had three before I left."

"(Y/n), that's not healthy, but I'm not one to talk so I won't argue it much."

Air blew out of your nose as you almost aborted, knowing he wasn't lying.

"Hey, hold on." You ordered your coffee, Quad Venti Caramel Macchiato with a pump of creme brulé.

"Wow. You're going to be bouncing off the walls," Seb said when he knew you were back for the conversation.

"I wasn't joking. I'm so tired, though. I'm definitely going to take a nap on this flight. In fact, would it be a huge problem if I just crash when I get to your place if this coffee doesn't kick in?"

"I'm completely okay with that," Sebastian said slyly and by the mischievous smile you heard in his tone, you were sure he planned on you both napping...in the same location.

You had actually napped with Sebastian a few times last week during your trip and as much as you hated to admit it, it had made falling asleep without him beside you a lot more difficult. Nothing had happened, and Sebastian knew nothing would, but that didn't stop him from cracking a few jokes every now and then.

You thanked the barista as she handed you your coffee, attempting not to interrupt your conversation. You threw some extra cash in the tip jar as a thank you. You turned around and headed for your terminal.

"So what are you up to this morning?" You asked him.

"Oh, not much," he stated simply.

You chalked his shortness up to that it was still early and he was tired.

"Are you planning on going to the gym before I get there, 'cause I'm not up for that. I know if you don't Don will miss you too much and call you whining later," you tried not to bust out laughing at the idea considering people were around you and as your mind, body, and spirit reminded you, it was early.

"Ahh, no I don't think I am this morning. He'll survive. Are you at your terminal yet?"

"No, not quite, it's the next one, though."

"So what are you going to be doing then? Just sitting and waiting for me to get there?" You teased.

"Yeh, waiting for you to get here. That's what I'm doing," he plainly stated, but there was a hint of something in his voice that you didn't quite recognize.

"You're such a dork, Seb, but that's okay. We're all weird in our own way and that makes each of us..." your voice left you as you looked entered your terminal, shocked by the sight in front of you.


	8. The crew.

Your eyes met Arctic Ocean blue eyes staring into yours, the skin around them crinkling from a smile so big, beside a cell phone that was being held up to an ear.

You walked slowly, not believing he was in front of you, dropping your bag and sunk into his waiting open arms.

"What in the world are you doing here?" You asked, smiling into his chest.

He kissed the top of your head before answering,

"I didn't want you to have to fly alone."

You pulled away, but didn't let go, and grinned at him.

"When did you get here? Did you seriously just fly here to fly back with me?!"

"Ahh," you could see his nerves kicking up a bit, "yeh, kind of. I took a redeye out of New York this morning and got here about an hour and a half ago."

"So when you said you were "here waiting" on me...you literally meant here. Seb, that's crazy! You really didn't have to do this, but it is so, so very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much." Your face went back into his broad, warm chest.

The two of you stood that way for a moment, soaking in each other's presence before realizing what was happening and parted again.

"Oh, crap, I forgot to call my parents to let them know I got here. Hold on a second."

You stepped away from Sebastian and pulled your phone out of your pocket. You called your dad, surprised that he picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"I actually thought you might be asleep..."

"And I'm hoping you called to tell me you changed your mind."

You smirked despite his comment. "No, I haven't changed my mind, but I did want you to know that I'm here safely and waiting for my flight....there has been a slight change, though..." you drifted off as you walked a little ways away from Sebastian so he wouldn't hear.

"I'm not flying alone. Sebastian flew down from New York this morning and was waiting for me."

"What? Why?"

"Because, Dad, I told you, he's a nice guy and he didn't want me to have to fly or get to Laguardia alone."

"Let me talk to him."

Little did you know that Sebastian had stepped up behind you and heard every word. He tapped you on the shoulder, motioning to give him the phone as you had begun to try to reason with your father.

You complied, but Sebastian quickly put the phone on mute, told you not to follow him, and put the phone to his ear, taking it off of mute.

"Hello, Mr. _________, how are you today?" He began before walking away. You sat down and your mind wheels began to spin at 100mph. Sebastian talking to your dad made you a little nervous. Who cares if you were an adult, your father could still easily say something to offend Sebastian and you didn't want things to change between you.

As your mind continued to grow anxious, you didn't even notice Seb approaching you with the phone before handing it to you.

"Hello?"

"I still don't know if I like it, but I like him being considerate, so it'll do for now. I would have preferred to meet him."

"Okay dad...well I'll let you know when I get to New York. Love you."

As soon as you hung up, you turned to Sebastian.

"I don't know what was said, but I'm so sorry."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why are you sorry? He's just being a good father. I completely respect that. It's not a big deal, (Y/n)," he saw the anxiety in your eyes, and put his arm around you, pulling you into him. "(Y/n), everything is fine. Nothing's changed, please don't stress about it."

Somehow Seb could calm you down when nothing nor anyone could, which was strange when you had only known each other for such a short time. You mentally shrugged your shoulders and gave in.

\---------------

After getting to Seb's place, you immediately changed into comfy clothes and you both crawled in bed. You had literally been laying there for about five seconds when Seb's phone went off.

He looked at the screen before apologizing and asking if you minded, to which you shook your head, "no."

"Hey, man. How are you?"

"Hey SeaBass, I'm good, man, how about you?" You heard the voice say.

"I'm good, I'm really good."

"Hmmm, I'm guessing your visitor is there then?" Said the voice, laughing at the end. Seb quickly reduced the volume of the call until you couldn't hear.

"Jackass," you couldn't help but think to yourself as you smirked, rolling over away from him, putting the pillow over your head for emphasis.

You heard him chuckle before his side of the conversation became terse yes, no, and maybe answers.

When he hung up the phone, you felt him shift closer to you before pulling the pillow off of your head while simultaneously poking you in the sides, making you convulse in laughter from the ticklish spots he purposefully hit. "Alright nosy smartass, I'm off the phone now. Would you like to know what's going on?"

You mocked stupefaction. "I was not being nosy," you said flipping over, facing him. "I was anything but! I took extra precautions to not be nosy...Mr. SeaBass," you laughed, returning his poking.

He became serious after the poke war ended.

"Well whether you'd like to know or not, I'm going to tell you. That was Chris. He-"

"I feel like you know a lot of people named Chris. You're going to have to be more specific."

"Well, you got me there. Chris Evans. He actually wanted to get together for dinner, but I told him I wanted to run it by you first. We do not have to go if you don't want to. I don't have to go. I want to spend time with you, but if you'd like to go I'm okay with that too."

You attempted to act nonchalant and feigned consideration when inside you were actually screaming "YES!".

"I mean, I'd be okay with that, if you are...as long as I get a nice nap first."

"Yeh, of course, I could use a nap first myself. So you want to go?"

"Yeh, why not? Let's do it."

"It won't just be us three...if that's okay? I think he's trying to get some more friends to join us."

"That's fine with me."

Sebastian nodded and shot Chris a text and found out we'd meet for dinner at 7:30 at some swanky restaurant called Ciprini Downtown. He put his phone on the nightstand and wrapped his arms around you, happy to be the big spoon, and you both fell asleep quicker than you had since you'd parted.

\-----------------

"Are you sure this looks okay?" You asked Sebastian as you stepped out of the doorway of his room. The little black dress you had bought that afternoon but had refused to show Seb when you purchased it, made Sebastian's eyebrows raise higher than you had seen and you watched his jaw slack, causing you to giggle. The dress came up to your collarbones and draped across, while the back of it plunged not quite down to the bottom of your spine. You had chosen purple jewelry and heels to accompany it and you twirled again to make sure he got a good look. "Is it dressy enough, or too dressy? I have no clue about any of this Seb." He still hadn't said anything but continued to stare. "Sebastian," you said approaching him, "are you listening to me?"

He shook his head slightly as if to clear the fog in his mind. "You look beautiful."

You felt your cheeks heat up as quickly as stepping out into the sun on a hot summer's day. "Thank you," you accepted the compliment so softly it was barely audible. "It's not too much, but it's dressy enough though?" You asked as he rose from the couch in his onyx black suit with a blue button-down and black tie. It was then your turn to look at him in admiration.

"Damn," you couldn't help but mutter under your breath. Thankfully he didn't hear it, or at least if he did, he chose to ignore it.

"Now do you think you're too dressed up?"

You shook your head "no" in response, still a little speechless by how handsome he looked. He glanced at his watch before declaring that you probably needed to go. There was supposed to be a cab waiting downstairs.

When you got to the restaurant, you were the first two there so you went ahead and sat down.

"So, do you know who all is coming," you asked as Seb pushed the chair in behind you and sat down beside you.

"Ah, yeh, I think," he said simply.

You looked at him imploringly, "..and....".

He grinned, blowing air out of his nose in an amused huff. "You'll see."

"Fine." You turned your attention to the menu, your eyes bulging slightly as you took in the menu...and the menu prices.

"Seb, this is way too fancy for me. Do they have like....chicken fingers," you whispered to him before stifling your laughter. He didn't even attempt to hide his laughter as the waitress approached the table.

"Good evening, can I get you something to drink while you wait?"

Seb ordered and then looked at you before you looked at the waitress and smiled.

"I'm really sorry about this, but ahh, if I order sweet tea, well...do you even have sweet tea? I mean, I can drink unsweet as well, ahh," you looked back to Sebastian for help, but all he did was look down laughing before you gave up and looked back at the waitress, who seemed to be taking your reaction is stride. "I guess, I don't know, you can just bring whatever, I'll drink it."

"We do have sweet tea, ma'am. I'll bring some sweetener for you in case it isn't sweet enough."

Slightly embarrassed, but laughing at yourself nonetheless, thanked her, "that'll be great. I'm sorry. Thank you!"

You elbowed Sebastian in the ribs, causing his head to fly to your shoulder in laughter and pain. You both were in pain then. "Oww," you both exclaimed before bursting into fits of quiet laughter, attempting not to disturb the other dinner guests.

You were still hunched over laughing with each other when a robust and deep voice grabbed your attention.

"Sebastian!"

You turned and saw Chris Evans approaching the table. Behind him trailed Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Robert Downey Jr. Your eyes grew large in distress before you whipped to face Seb, putting your now clammy hands in front of you as you stood, "the whole Marvel crew? That's who we're meeting?! What are they all doing here? How could you do this to me?" As if you weren't already nervous about just meeting Chris Evans, now you had these amazing people to try and impress in addition?

You attempted to sneakily wipe your hands off before you had to shake hands with them. Sebastian put his hand on the small of your back in an attempt to reassure you as he whispered in your ear just before Chris reached for him "just be yourself, they're going to love you."

Chris and Sebastian embraced before pulling away and Chris looked at you with a smile that while it seemed as though he meant to be nice, it simultaneously seemed somewhat scrutinizing, although you could be imagining it.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you, I'm (y/n)" you said shyly, reaching out your hand to shake Chris' before doing the same with the rest of the crew.

After meeting everyone, you all took your seats again. Seb was the last one to sit as he had pulled your chair out for you to sit before returning to his seat. You didn't miss the look shared between Chris and RDJ, but you were unsure of what to make of it.

After giving their drink orders, the group fell into a quiet conversation, catching up on what had been going on in their lives and while you smiled, laughed, or nodded when appropriate, you remained quiet. The waitress returned shortly, asking if everyone was ready to order. She started with RDJ and went down the row before coming back to you. The others had ordered all of these fancy dishes that you couldn't have even dreamed of pronouncing while it melted off of their tongues like children eating pixie sticks on Halloween night. You decided to go with one of the few things on the menu that you could pronounce.

"Ahm," you barely choked out before clearing your throat and trying again, "I'll have the grilled chicken with mixed vegetables, please." You wouldn't look up because you could feel all of their eyes on you.

"And for you, sir?"

"I'll take the cheeseburger and French fries," he folded up his menu to hand to the waitress as you looked over at him.

He looked at you and smiled before you said as quietly as you could, "you didn't have to order something plain! Order what you want. If you want fancy, order it. You didn't have to do that for me."

He leaned in so that your noses were almost touching. His eyes had turned mischievous and playful, like the ocean when a storm was threatening in the distance.

"Who said I was ordering a burger because of you?"

Your cheeks heated up so quickly with him so close to you that your face was surely as red as the lipstick you were wearing.

"...well...all I'm saying is, if you did happen to order like that because of me, you didn't have to," you finished breathlessly.

He knew what he was doing to you and he sniggered "maybe I just wanted a burger and fries....maybe not. You'll never know." He completed his statement with full on waggling eyebrows as you slapped his knee under the table, laughing along with him.

"Shut up, Sebastian."

When RDJ asked "you want to share with the group what's so funny over there?" you both looked up somewhat alarmed, having almost forgotten you weren't alone.

"No, we're good." Sebastian bit back humorously.

You elbowed Sebastian before saying "don't be rude. We ahh, I thought Sebastian might have wanted something else to eat, but ordered differently because I didn't know how to pronounce most of the menu items. Apparently, I was wrong."

"You'll never know," he repeated before you poked him in the side, causing him to lean into your shoulder.

Chris cleared his throat.

"So, Sebastian tells me your a teacher?"

Thrown off by his sudden change of subject and directness, it took you a second to gather a simple, "yes."

The conversation went as it normally did, "what, where, what grade, how long," all of the typical conversation questions before Elizabeth asked if it's what you saw yourself doing the rest of your life.

"...well, no, if I'm being honest. I have other things I want to pursue in life."

"Like..." RDJ countered.

You explained how a couple of years after you graduated college, a girl went missing for a couple of weeks. It turned out she had been sexually assaulted, possibly even raped, at a party and couldn't overcome her grief. She killed herself and her body had been found in the woods about three weeks after being discovered missing. You explained that while you had no connection other than you had gone to the same college, something about this girls story had gripped your heart and led you to the desire to pursue counseling. By the end of your explanation, you wiped the tears from under your eyes and said "wow. Sorry to put the night into such a bummer mood," trying to laugh to ease things.

"No need to apologize," Scarlett offered. "I think that's great, what you want to do."

Quietly, you thanked her and Seb pulled you into his side for a gentle squeeze of a hug.

The tension seemed to lift between the group and you afterward and the idea of continuing the hangout after dinner was mentioned.

After Seb was sure you didn't mind, the six of you headed for a club downtown that you couldn't remember the name of. A VIP table waited for the group with extra room. Before you knew it, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner, and Paul Rudd were walking in.

"Paul...Rudd.....Paul. Rudd." Your head whipped to look at Sebastian in shock. "Paul Rudd is here? I'm going to meet Paul Rudd!? THE Paul Rudd!???"

Sebastian looked at you, at first smirking at your response, but by the end, his eyes hinted at jealousy. "If you continue acting like this, no probably not. You didn't act like this meeting anyone else."

"That's because it is PAUL FUCKING RUDD! The man has a direct line to my funny bone! Tic Tac is the best!" you were quietly squealing by the end.

"Oh, so he's like your favorite or something?" Seb asked bitterly, but you didn't notice due to your excitement.

"Yes! He is so awesome! Oh my gosh, I've got to calm down," you said before taking deep breaths as Paul was close now.

Thankfully, you didn't make a complete fool of yourself in front of him, but he had you laughing literally 10 seconds into your conversation. Sebastian had went off to the dance floor with Anthony Mackie and soon Paul joined them, offering for you to come along, but you denied.

Sebastian saw you, Paul free, and came back to the where you were sitting.

"So are you back to normal after meeting your favorite person in the universe?" He spit the words at you like they were the most disgusting food he had tried to eat.

You realized now what was going on. You stood up and walked over to him, putting your arms around his waist and pulling him into a hug which he wouldn't return.

"Seb, no need to be jealous. He's just an actor, you're my friend. There's a difference. I came to New York to be with you, not him. You're my favorite Romanian in the world, and foreign guys always beat domestic," you said, pulling away and winking.

A grin started to form in his face and things were back to normal.

"How about we get out of here?" You suggested.

"I think that's the best idea I've heard all night."


	9. The screwup.

Thanks to your naps, neither of you were tired, so it was decided to just walk around the city. Sure, it was cold, but between the layers of clothing and each other's company you somehow remained warm.

As the two of you turned down 46th St, the area looked familiar, then you heard music in the atmosphere. You noticed that you were approaching Don't Tell Mama, a bar you had visited on your first trip to NY as an adult. The servers performed, karaoke was always open, and the piano man had been amazing. The bar was laid back and full of interesting people who just enjoyed having a nice time. You quickly turned to Sebastian and explained your experience and how fun it was.

"Well, let's go in if you'd like to. I've never been here before."

The two of you went down the steps and into the bar and it was just as you had remembered. You quickly found a table in the back corner where you could see the pianist, but not blinded by the lights on him.

"What would you like to drink," Sebastian asked as he shrugged off his coat into the chair, giving you the booth seat.

"Don't judge me but I've always wanted to try a blue motorcycle and tonight feels like a good night for it."

"Because I'm buying," he asked, smirking.

"Exactly!" You couldn't help but release the giggles in your throat.

"Hey!" You said loudly enough to get his attention. "Do they put cherries in those? If not, can they? And if they do, can they put extra, please??"

"I got you covered," he said before winking and turning his attention back to heading for the bar.

He returned after a few minutes with the jolly rancher colored blue motorcycle and what looked like a glass of scotch for himself.

As soon as your drink hit your throat, your eyebrows lifted almost into your hairline.

"Oh...my... did you ask them to put extra alcohol in this instead of extra cherries....despite that there are like, 10 cherries on top?"

"....ah, no," he answered like you were crazy.

"Wow, I must be too old and weak for alcohol anymore then, cause, wow."

"Drink some more, it'll help."

"Uhh, okay Caroline. She would do that shit in college too. 'Oh, you feel like you're going to be sick? Drink more, drink more'," you mocked Caroline from back in the good ol' days when you could probably have chugged that blue motorcycle like it wasn't anyone's business.

Sebastian's laughter exploded, loud enough to make the tables across the room look over in surprise...not that the bar was humongous or anything, but still. You smiled in return, happy to make him laugh.

The two of you fell into a conversation before a quiet moment came between the two of you. You could tell he had something on his mind, like he had something he wanted to say, but couldn't decide whether to do so or not. You attempted to say something, but he did too at the same moment and he convinced you to go first.

"You know, I haven't ever heard you sing..." you looked at him coyly with a smile beginning in the right corner of your mouth.

"No," he straightforwardly answered.

"Oh, come on, Seb!"

"No," he repeated.

"Why not!? I know you do karaoke! Why not!?"

"I'm not drunk enough," he attempted to lie.

"Well that can change," you said before moving to get up and head for the bar.

"I was kidding. I don't have to be drunk," he said to make you stop.

"Sebastian, please???? I'll even be a cliche. Please? For meeeee?"

He rolled his eyes and smirked at you, "fine."

He got up and headed to the piano to sign up. When he returned, it took everything in you not to jump up and bombard him with a repetition of "what did you choose? What did you choose? Huh? What is it," instead, settling for only the one time question.

"You'll see."

Clicking your tongue, "why won't you tell me now?"

"It's much more fun to watch you wait for something you're excited about," he said. His response was somehow somewhere between complete seriousness and teasing.

"Fine," crossing your arms and turning away from him.

"And when you're faking anger and being stubborn, that's even better."

You looked back at him and stuck your tongue out like a child before turning away again. That didn't last long though because the pianist soon called for "Buck," which apparently had been Seb's chosen alias.

"I'll be right back, doll," he said before winking and stealthily sliding out of his seat, watching your face and neck blush candy apple red....thankfully he couldn't see the rest of your body heating up because you'd surely never live that down.

He stepped up to the mic and after the momentary silence from the pianist switching sheet music out, you recognized immediately the chords of "I'm Yours" that were being played. Although the song was made for the ukelele or guitar, it being played on the piano alone was exquisite. The reggae feel which you loved may have been gone, but the ballad of a haunting song that warmed every inch of your skin replaced it.

Once it was over, Sebastian returned to the table. "Yeh, I definitely haven't ever done that song at karaoke before. By the sound of it, there's a reason."

"Seb, what are you talking about!? That was wonderful! I love that song in general, but that was amazing. Truly, it was."

"You need more alcohol," he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, don't believe me, but I'm telling you the truth."

A waitress who was passing by had heard "more alcohol," making her stop to ask about refills.

Sebastian ordered a gin and you asked for a screwdriver, craving something orange tasting.

After your drinks arrived, Sebastian fell back into his thoughtful silence. You tried to ignore it, and successfully did so for about two more songs, but finally said: "I think you've had enough to drink over there."

He shook the fog from his eyes, "what? Why do you say that?"

"You're...so silent. Is something wrong," you asked, concern filling your eyes, which he quickly picked up on and realized his silence was causing you anxiety.

"No! No, everything is fine. It's great. It's perfect. ...I, uhh, I was trying to decide whether to run something by you or not."

You looked at him and waited, showing you were prepared.

He took a deep breath. "I, ahh...it's just....well...you see....my mom invited us up tomorrow for dinner." He saw the flicker of fear in your eyes before you could mask it. "We don't have to. It's not a big deal. She just...thought it'd be nice to meet you." You swallowed the small bit of moisture in your throat, finding your throat closing up. "I didn't necessarily agree for us to go." Then, with that last phrase, a different mood fiercely hit you.

"What do you mean 'didn't necessarily'?"

"I just. I didn't say no, I didn't say yes..." he could see your eyes hinting at a subtle red.

You tried to keep any bite out of your tone, it was his mother after all. You knew how much she meant to him. "You can go if you'd like, I'll stay here."

"(Y/n), she kinda wants to meet you which is why she asked..."

He thought this might help, but he was wrong.

You leaned in across the table in order to shield the conversation from any curious ears.

"Why does she want to meet me? Why does she even know about me??" That may not seem fair considering your family knew about him, but that was only because you were traveling and needed to ease fears or anger. You had tried to avoid telling your family so that no one thought different of the situation than it was. You and Seb were just friends. That's it. That's all you were ever going to be. Sure, you both flirted, but that's as far as things could go. You couldn't have a relationship, not romantically.

"Well...I mean, I may have told her about you while I was up there at Christmas is all."

"Well yes, Sebastian, but can you tell me something I couldn't have easily figured out," you spat before tipping the bottom half of your drink back.

"You told her about me then, AND she knows I'm here visiting again? Why? Why did she need to know about me? For heaven's sake, Sebastian, we just met. I didn't go exclaim to all the world that I met you, which is apparently the opposite of what you've chosen to do. What she must think of me. Ugh!" You grabbed your coat and pushed past him and to head for the door.

You may not have known exactly where you were going, but you would figure it out eventually. You knew if you went left, you'd get back to Times Square and that seemed like a good place to get lost so that made your decision.

Part of you didn't even know why you were so mad about this. Of course, you didn't want his mother to think you were some free loader person using him. You didn't want her to think you were some...some....fuck buddy type either. ...what had he told her about you? What had he told everyone about you? You couldn't deny that clearly, he had been telling people about you with the way Chris had asked about "his visitor" on the phone earlier, not to mention the looks the crew had given each other earlier at dinner. ...Did Sebastian think you would become a fuck buddy? He had to know that wasn't going to happen, didn't he? Of course, you knew most females on the planet would label you clinically insane due to this, but you'd just have to be crazy. You shook the ridiculous thought from your mind. You couldn't bear thinking that's what all this was about, not from Seb, you knew him better than that...didn't you? Yes! Shut up, brain! Sebastian isn't like that. He's not. He's not.

"You're mad because you want more, but you're too damn scared."

Where the hell did that thought come from!?

Before your mind could continue bickering with itself, you heard footsteps pounding up behind you and for a moment, you felt fear come over your body, worried about an attack, but then "(Y/n), dammit, I'm sorry okay. I don't even know why I should be sorry, but if it upsets you this much, I am."

You wheeled around so quickly to face him that he stumbled back, surprised.

"What are you telling people about me? Why are you telling everyone about me, Sebastian?"

He was able to interrupt, but only briefly. "What do you mean? I'm just-"

"What did you tell all of your friends? Your male friends? I heard Chris on the phone earlier, and I definitely didn't miss the looks that went back and forth at dinner. I swear if you're telling people, or you even think, I'm going to become a fuck buddy, I'm getting on the first plane out of here and you won't ever hear from me again," you said this so darkly, surprising even yourself. You felt the color drain from your face, like all of the life and breath within you, was escaping. You hadn't meant to say that out loud, you didn't even want to think it...but the bombshell that you just dropped on him made your surprise seem like a small sparkler in the middle of winter where it didn't belong.

He remained silent for an extended period of time, both of you remaining frozen.

"What. The actual. Fuck?"

You wanted to say something. You wanted to apologize. You wanted to hug him. You wanted to cry so hard that the number of tears would flood the gutters. Instead, you remained deathly still, throat constricted, and almost positive you had stopped breathing.

He didn't say anything else. His eyes bore into yours- a storm of pain, confusion, and anger swirling at deathly speeds in their depths before he walked past you and spit, "I'm going home. You can do what you like."

You followed silently behind him for a few blocks before he hailed a cab, hearing your hills clicking against the frigid concrete. He held the door open for you to get into the backseat but then shut the door and sat in the front.

You knew you had fucked up, you really didn't mean to say it. You didn't even like thinking it, but your mind took power over your mouth apparently and you couldn't make it up to him.

Once you got back to his place, he unlocked the door and Chloe bolted towards the both of you, excited you were back. She jumped on Sebastian but his reaction to her was not expected.

"CHLOE! GET OFF! GO AWAY!" He yelled at her. Her reaction showed that he hardly, if ever, had treated her like that. She backed away, tail between her legs, and looked at you helplessly.

You tried to keep your voice quiet and calm, but firm, "Sebastian, I know you're beyond furious with me right now, but don't take that out on Chloe."

He spun so fast it almost made you dizzy. "You're damn right I'm 'beyond furious!' That doesn't even begin to cover it. I don't want to be upset with Chloe, I don't want to take it out on her, but literally all I see right now is red! You think I see you as a fuck buddy!!??? Really, (y/n)!? I can't believe you would even think that much less, have the gall to say it, and say it to my face! Why!? What on God's green earth makes you think I think that way about you? I haven't even come on to you like that. I haven't forced or tried to push anything on you like that. I wouldn't think about putting you in a situation you don't want to be in. Hell, we're 'just friends' right? How the hell could we be fuck buddies if friends are all we are? Ai spus că suntem prieteni, asta e tot ce suntem. Te-ai oprit vreodată să se gândească că poate eu vreau să fiu mai mult decât prieteni? Chiar și așa, cum ai putut crede că? Cum ai putut să crezi că vreodată că vrei doar pentru un amic dracu buddy!? Fucking hell! I am more pissed off right now than I think I have ever been with somebody!" He stopped raging long enough to run his hands through his hair, pulling at the ends.

You looked down, tears in your eyes battling the bottom lids in order to spill over, waiting for the next slew of rants, apparently some in Romanian, to begin, but when there was nothing but silence, you looked up, surprised to see Sebastian sitting on the couch, curled over, head in his hands.

Chloe walked slowly to him and laid at his feet.

You couldn't think of anything to say, so you went to his room and started to pack your bags.


	10. The search.

You heard the door to the apartment swing open and slam shut, causing you to drop the shirt you had been about to put in your suitcase. Then you heard the soft clatter of paws approaching the entryway of the bedroom. You turned and saw Chloe standing at the door looking at you as if she understood the pain you were in. She saw the tears streaming down your face and it seemed as though her eyes softened.

"Hey, sweet girl," you croaked out, kneeling down so that she jogged to you for a hug. You gave into the sobs and went completely on the floor. Chloe laid across your legs, kneading her head into your lower stomach in an attempt to comfort you. After awhile of blurred thought and no sound of anyone reentering the apartment, you wiped your face and made to get up, but Chloe apparently didn't feel you were ready to do so. You gave up, knowing this would probably be the last time you would spend any time with her, and sat there, petting her for about five more minutes before she let you get up.

Once up, you got a pen and your journal for a piece of paper. Although it took multiple attempts, many tear stained, you finally finished the letter and laid it on the bed.

Sebastian,

No words could ever explain to you how...remorseful I am over what I said. I know it will never excuse it, but my insecurities got the best of me. I never meant to say it and I loathe that the thought even crossed my mind. I think the world of you, even though we've only known each other for such a short time. I want to thank you for everything you have shown, taught, and helped me see. Thank you for everything you've done for me. You've listened to my whining, my stupid stories, and laughed at my lame jokes. You've brought so much happiness to my life in such a short time, and it is now one of my biggest regrets to have brought so much anger and hurt into yours. I will never be able to make this right, all I can ask is that you can one day forgive me. I wish you nothing but happiness. I'm so very sorry,

(y/n)

You grabbed your bag off of the bed, rubbed Chloe's head as you walked by her. She followed you to the door where you paused and kneeled down on her level to look her in the eyes, "goodbye sweet girl, take good care of your daddy, okay? I love you so much," you said to her as a silent tear ran down your cheek before you stood and walked out of the apartment.

_________________

"Man, I hate to break it to you, but she was not interested," Chris laughed at Anthony's buzzed bragging about the woman interested in him at the club.

"Oh, leave me alone, Evans, you're just jealous she wasn't into vanilla."

"Wait, is that-" Elizabeth became distracted from the argument.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself, Mack," Chris couldn't give in.

"Would both of you shut up!?" Elizabeth squinted into the distance, causing the crew to do the same thing. "Isn't that (y/n)?"

Chris' head jolted in that direction quickly and zoomed in to see you walking out of Sebastian's building alone with your bag, looking around, taking a deep breath, putting your earbuds in, and turning to walk in the opposite direction.

_________________

Music had always been a cure for any and every emotion. Music could always heal the pain you held, but at the moment, you couldn't figure out what could drown out the hurt you were feeling. You should probably take a cab, but it felt better to be out in the bitter cold, hopefully, if your body became numb, your heart and mind would too. You put your iPod on shuffle to try and find something to medicate your heart. For some reason, your iPod must have wanted you to suffer because the first song you heard was "I'm Yours," then it changed to Taylor Swift's "Mine," before a slew of other love songs that only seemed to bruise your heart and make your lungs scream to stop.

Then four familiar chords slid into your ears and mind. You recognized it immediately and couldn't help but cough a small laugh. How coincidental, not ironic, for this song to play, but you let it soak into your bloodstream.

"I'll go back to Manhattan as if nothing ever happened. When I cross that bridge, it'll be as if this doesn't exist.....we don'thave to speak at all. I won't look in your eyes, and I won't have to fall. We don't have to speak at all. But Brooklyn holds you and holds my heart too. What a fool I was to think I could live in both worlds..."

You turned the volume up as loud as it would go, put it on repeat, and continued walking.

_______________

The phone line went to voicemail again.

"Dammit, Seb, pick up the phone!" Chris exclaimed as they exited the building.

The crew had gone up to Sebastian's apartment after seeing you walking down the street with your things. They couldn't get anyone to the door except Chloe barking on the other side so they had tried Sebastian on everyone's phone, multiple times, but he wouldn't answer.

"Come on, we've got to try and catch her. Something isn't right."

_______________

Sebastian left the apartment in anger and hurt. He couldn't believe the words that had come out of your mouth. He couldn't believe you'd even think that, that the thought could have even crossed your mind. Ever since the two of you had met, he had been nothing but a gentleman. Sure, he couldn't help but relish in watching your reaction to his flirtatious manner, but he hadn't ever pushed too far, had he? What looks at dinner were you talking about? What were you talking about when you said what would his mother think of you?

The main reason he had told people about you was because they wouldn't leave him alone about it, and of course he could hardly contain his joy anymore. At Christmas, he couldn't stop giving his phone his attention and smiling everytime it went off. Before he left, his mother pulled him aside and demanded an update. If anyone had met his mother, the Romanian in her could put the fear of God in anyone. He had succumbed and told his mother everything. He explained how he had met you, how you had gotten along perfectly, how it was almost like Chloe had found you for him. He confessed that although he knew you were just friends, he hoped that one day that would change, but he didn't want to push you and risk that. As for the guys, they wouldn't accept the claim that he had been too busy to answer their texts and calls.

Speaking of, here they are, drunk calling you, relentlessly at that. He put the phone on vibrate and slipped it into his back pocket to return to his thoughts.

His mother had been the first person he called, after the airlines of course, once you had agreed to visit. Chris had called you and mentioned going out of town for New Year's, leading to confessing the plans he had made with you. He had only wanted to see you happy, because you were worth it. He used to think that about previous women in his life, women that he thought he loved, and thought they loved him. You had a heart of gold, with no ulterior motives. You simply found pleasure in his company and he knew it. He knew that you wanted nothing more than to make him laugh, to learn about each other, to enjoy each other's company. He knew that you appreciated the way he listened to you, but did you know he felt that same way about you? How had he ever led you to believe anything different? Granted, to have just met, you were spending a lot of time together, but would that point to what he had been accused of?

When he ran back over those moments, he couldn't deny the shock he saw on your face after you said the words, the pain and regret that resonated in your blue-gray eyes as you took in the pain mirrored in his own. Thinking back, did you really even mean to say it? It hadn't seemed like it. You hadn't defended it, and when you thought you were right, he knew the lengths you'd go to in order to prove it. In this case, however, you hadn't said anything.

You hadn't said anything. You accepted and understood his anger, even regretted your words. That was it, you didn't believe what you said was true at all.

The phone wouldn't stop buzzing, "what the fuck do y'all want? Go home and go to sleep. Stop cal-"

"Sebastian! Why did we see (y/n) walking down the street with luggage leaving your apartment? Where are you?! What's going on?"

Chris' words shot through him like a spark hitting a line of gasoline.

"Wha-WHAT?!"

"Seb, what's going on?"

"We had a fight-what do you mean you saw her with luggage? Is she there with you now?"

"No, we went upstairs to try and find you and by the time we got back down, she was gone. We've been searching for her. Where are you?"

"Meet me at my place."

Sebastian turned on his heel, full sprint back to his apartment. What Chris said couldn't be true, she couldn't have left. She wouldn't have left, not without saying anything. It was the middle of the night in New York, a city she didn't know. This couldn't be happening. In a few short moments, he was out of breath, but running up the front steps to his building. The elevator couldn't move fast enough. When he got to the door, his friends were there, Chloe barking on the other side. He opened the door, and Chloe backed away, still barking, before running to his bedroom, as if beckoning him to follow.

"(Y/n)! (Y/n)! Please be here," he called on his way to the room.

When he entered the door, his eyes were drawn to where you had laid your luggage...the spot was empty. He ran into the bathroom to see if your things had been removed..they had.

"(Y/n)! No! Please, God, no!"

He stepped quickly out of the bathroom and was about to run back out of the room but Chloe was laying on the bed, nose pointing at a piece of paper. Sebastian recognized your handwriting. As cliche as it seemed, he knew this wouldn't be good. He picked it up, and as he read, his knees gave way, the mattress catching him. Chloe crawled around beside him and put her head in his lap, looking at him with pity in her eyes.

As he finished reading, the paper fell from his hand and he looked at the ground. He hadn't noticed that anything had dropped out of the letter, but as he bent down to pick it up, he knew this was going to hurt like hell.

He flipped over the film strip of picture booth photos the two of you had taken just that afternoon. Had it really only been a few hours? A few hours since you two had crawled into a photo booth. You had to sit in his lap for you both to fit. The first showed two regular smiles, two normal people. The second shot revealed your arms around his neck, head thrown back in laughter at a joke he'd made because Ed Sheeran's "Photograph" had come on while in the photo booth, while he had thrown his arms around your waist to ensure you didn't fall out of the booth. The third showed him looking in the camera, eyes buldging in surprise as you had kissed him on the cheek, a reward for not letting you fall out of the booth. Then the fourth showed the eskimo kiss the two of you had shared. It had been his idea. You had told him about your grandparents and how everyday before your grandfather went to work he'd give your grandmother two kisses, one short, sweet kiss on the lips and then an eskimo kiss.You had told him that even after almost 15 

years, your grandfather had never even considered finding someone else because your grandmother would always hold his heart. You had explained that their love had always inspired you and how you had hoped that one day you'd experience a love like that. You had written the words "I'll miss you when I'm gone," earlier when he wasn't looking, but he had seen them when you had laid them on the counter when you returned to get ready for dinner.

The second film strip wasn't here. It had been a repeat of the photos, but he had sat in your lap.

"...if the second one isn't here, she must have taken it with her......maybe.....maybe there's still a chance...." he whispered to himself. He jumped up and headed for the doorway.

"I need your help. I need to find her. I need someone to go to the airport, I'll pay you back but check for her on any flights to NC. I need someone to go to this bar, Don't Tell Mama on 46th and check in, we were there earlier and she may go back. I need someone to go to Penn Station and look to see if she took a bus. I'm going to see if I can catch her around here. Here's her number, please call her every few minutes to see if she'll answer your call. If you get her to answer, I need to find out where she is. I need to talk to her."

They all headed out the door and out into the night.


	11. The change of heart.

Sebastian had searched everywhere within a 10 block radius and hadn't seen you anywhere. He called the rest of the search party for any updates. You were nowhere to be seen, nor had anyone recognized a description of you. Between the dash back to his apartment and the 10 block radius search, exhaustion and defeat hit him like a two-ton vehicle. Luckily, he was coming up on Central Park and there were plenty of park benches to rest. Once he came upon one, he plopped down, gut wrenched with the urge to give up. He dropped his elbows to his knees before his head fell into his hands. Tears stung his eyes before he gave in and let them fall to the ground.

"How could I let this happen?" He said out loud, shaking his head simultaneously. He wiped the snot from his nose with his sleeve before looking out at the park. He realized that he was only a bench or two down from the place you two had first met.

As he looked down to the spot and across the park, he noticed he wasn't alone in the park. Through the tears in his eyes, he saw a familiar red suitcase. Then, almost blending in, in the darkness, he saw you, bundled up and crying on the park bench down the way.

He jumped up quickly and bolted in your direction. When he was almost to you, he called your name.

"(Y/n), thank God!

Your head lifted so quickly, jolted out of your almost zombie-like state, and saw Sebastian approaching you, but not in anger as you would have thought. Was this a dream?

"Sebastian?" Your voice was hoarse from sobs and the glacial night air. You couldn't move, just stare in shock at the sight of him. When he reached you, he threw his arms around your waist and pulled you from the bench into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, (Y/n). I'm so, so sorry."

As your body gained warmth and your mind caught up with what was happening, you had to object. "No! No, I'm sorry, Seb, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. You have nothing to apologize for, please, I'm so sorry!"

After a minute or so of continuing to drown out each other's apologies, you both gave up and just held each other, letting the warmth and relief sink in.

He realized how cold you were and released you to say, "you're freezing, let's get back to my place so you can warm up. Is that okay?" He didn't want to order you around.

"There's nothing I'd like more."

He took your hand in his left, grabbed your luggage with his right, and the two of you walked back towards his apartment. Once back, he could still feel the chill radiating off of you.

"Why don't you take a hot shower and then we'll talk?"

You nodded, lip quivering from a mixture of being cold and the multitude of emotions coursing through your body.

You took extra time in the shower, extra compared to normal anyways. Seb didn't seem upset anymore, but you still wanted to have all of your thoughts sorted as much as possible before you started in on the conversation you'd have after getting out of the shower. It also didn't help that it took about 10 minutes alone just to rid the chill from your bones.

Once you got out, dressing in flannel pj's for extra warmth, you padded to the living room where Seb was sitting at the breakfast bar, still as a statue, lost in thought.

"Seb?" His name was barely a whisper on your lips but it seemed to pull him from his thoughts nonetheless.

He didn't say a word when he looked at you, he immediately got off of the stool and pulled you into his arms. Neither of you said a word, just held onto each other.

He let go but led you to the couch, where he let you sit before he sat on the ottoman across from you.

You couldn't contain your emotions anymore. Tears quickly filled your eyes.

"Seb, I am so sorry. I never meant to say it. I didn't mean to think it. I know you're not like that. You haven't given me any reason to think that about you. I am so, so very sorry. I care about you so much. I'm so sorry I hurt you."

"(Y/n), I appreciate your apology, but please don't apologize. I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have acted like that." He held up his hand to stop you from interrupting with objections. "I shouldn't have. Yes, I was hurt and angry, but this is what I should have done, not reacted as I did. There's no excuse for the way I acted. Can we please not argue that? Can we go back to things being the way they were and forget any of it ever happened?"

"I'd really like that actually."

"And this will be the last thing I say about it...if you ever start to feel that way, in any way, shape, or form, can we talk about it, please?"

You nodded in agreement.

"Now I'm not going to lie, it's 4 a.m. and quite frankly I'm exhausted. Can we go to bed?"

This simple question warned you completely.

"Please."

He wanted to take a quick shower to warm up as well, so you went ahead and got in bed, waiting.

Once he was out and dressed, in boxers and a tight black tee, he asked "any idea what you'd like to do tomorrow," as he pulled back the covers and climbed into the bed, scooting close to you.

A thought came to you, but you weren't ready yet to discuss it with him so you simply answered: "Not sure yet, can we talk about it tomorrow? I'm exhausted."

He nodded before pulling you closer and nuzzling your neck. He fell asleep quickly as your mind continued to run over the idea that had come to you. Gazing at his peaceful, sleeping face, brought you to your decision and you were able to fall asleep quickly afterward.

\--------------------------

You woke up about 10, feeling your face being caressed. You turned slowly to look at Sebastian, somewhat surprised to see him awake.

"Good morning," you greeted him through a stretch.

"Good morning," he replied groggily, causing you to laugh.

"How long have you been awake?"

"About 15 minutes. I was happy to see you beside me."

You looked away and smiled, attempting to hide the redness rushing to your cheeks.

"So what did you want to do today?"

"Hmm.....can we go for a drive? Like, out of the city, where there is just open road and we can just drive? Well, I can drive? I haven't driven enough lately."

"That sounds nice, actually. Where would you like to drive?"

"Well, I hear upstate is nice? I don't really know, you can tell me."

"Upstate is nice, it's quiet, you'd probably like it."

"Let's do it then!" You said, suddenly wide awake with excitement.

He relished in your excitement, kissing you on top of the head before saying "it's settled," and crawling out of bed to get dressed.

\------------------------

Sebastian drove the rental car outside of the city before finding a place to stop and change seats. After changing seats, you got on the Palisades Interstate Parkway to see the scenery of NY out of the city. Although the trees were bare, you could easily imagine them full of color and recognized how beautiful it must be during the Spring and Fall.

"So do you know where you're going?" He asked.

"Can't a girl just drive?" You teased him about his question.

"Yes. Are you trying to just drive and get lost like you love to do?"

"Mayyyybe." You winked at him, causing him to laugh. "Now, let's jam."

You began flipping through songs on your iPod, mentally thanking Sebastian for letting you DJ, even though you didn't give him much choice ("The driver gets to choose the music.")

"You're the fire and the flood and I'll always feel you in my blood. Everything is fine when your hand is resting next to mine. Next to mine. You're the fire and the flood"

When it got to the chorus, Sebastian looked over at you. He moved his hand next to yours, making you laugh at his corniness.

"Blessed, Seb, if you want to hold my hand you can. You don't have to be a creeper about it."

Whether this had been his intention or not, he grabbed your hand as quickly as the words had come out of your mouth.

He laughed when he saw the surprise on your face. You had only been joking, but his hand encompassing yours felt right, so you went with it.

You had put on your "Fall Drives," playlist which happened to be full of slow, smoky, folksy music. This resulted in a quiet, but content, ride. After about 45 minutes of driving, Sebastian broached the subject of where you guys were driving.

"Do you have an idea of where you are, or where you want to end up?"

You ignored his question, posing your own instead. "Did you tell your mom about last night?"

The surprise couldn't be hidden from his voice. "No....I probably should let her know that we won't be visiting, though."

He pulled his hand from yours to reach for his phone in the door, but you pulled it back.

"The reason I ask is....I've been doing some thinking....well." You paused, trying to make sure you phrased this correctly, despite that you had been practicing it since last night when he had asked what you wanted to do today. "I don't see a problem with visiting your parents. I mean, they know we just met, and are just visiting...that we're..."

"Yes, they know we're friends, just friends," he let you off the hook, knowing you were trying not to bring back up any relation to the argument the previous evening.

"....yeh....so I mean, really, we could go. It isn't that big of a deal. Plus, I think it'd be nice to meet them. Congratulate them on raising the biggest dork on the planet. I mean seriously, they should receive a medal for it." You could hardly contain your laughter by the end, but once he looked at you fiercely and said "How rude!" imitating Stephanie Tanner before laughing himself, you had to join in.

"Are you serious, though, (y/n)? Do you really mean it? You really want to go?"

"Yeh. I mean, as long as that's still okay with you, and them, of course."

His excitement skyrocketed. "Yeh!! It'll definitely be okay! They're going to be so excited, my mom especially!"

"Well, please make sure before we get there. We only have about another hour or hour and a half, I think..."

He looked up, in surprise, from his phone before he hit call. "How do you know that?"

You looked straight ahead, now nervous, even though you didn't understand why. "Ahhh, I may or may not have looked it up this morning before we left...besides, you told me on Christmas Eve how long it'd take you..."

"You looked it up this morning? So you've known the whole morning where we were going? You've been planning this all day?"

"Since last night, actually. It was actually why I suggested going for a drive..."

You didn't have the guts to look at him, but in your peripheral vision, you could tell he had turned his body and face towards you but had leaned back against the door in astonishment. "(Y/n)...I can't believe...you really....you're amazing, you know that?" He took your hand gently in his and lifted the back of it to his lips. They barely brushed your hand, but that act sent chills down your spine, causing you to physically shake as if someone had just walked over your grave. He chuckled at your reaction, as you turned the heat up, pretending you were cold.

"Hey mom, I wanted to see if the invite for (y/n) and I to come visit is still on the table?"

You heard her excited voice come through the phone with a slight accent.

"Yes, honey! Really?? I thought when I didn't hear from you, you weren't coming! I'm so excited! Anthony! (Y/n) and Sebastian are coming, we need to go to the store!"

You had smiled, but when hearing that they would be going to the extra trouble for the visit, you whispered hastily: "Seb, no! Tell them not to go through all that."

He lifted an eyebrow at you, smirking, knowing how this was going to go.

"Mom, listen, mom," he attempted to regain her attention. "Mom, you don't have to go to the store, (y/n) doesn't want you to go to any extra trouble."

You slapped his arms, causing him to wince "don't tell her it was me," you hissed.

"No! No trouble at all, we're going to fix some dinner for you guys. When will you guys be here?"

"We'll probably be there in about an hour."

"Okay, sweetie, if we're not back yet, go ahead and come on in, okay?"

"Okay mom, we-"

"I'm just so excited! You aren't making her come, are you? If she doesn't feel comfortable, I don't want her to feel pressured."

"No, it was her idea actually."

Your eyes bulged and you went to hit him again, but he dodged it, causing you to hit the seat just right and pain shot up your arm.

"Owwww" you howled silently and were made even angrier when he started laughing at you before he saw the tears welling up in your eyes.

"Mom, I've got to go. We'll see you. I love you."

He hung up immediately and looked at you, still laughing, "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Shut. Up. Sebastian. You aren't anymore sorry than the man in the moon."

"Matt is sorry! I promise."

You couldn't help but roll your eyes and smile at his lame joke.

"Oh shut up. You're such a dork."

For the rest of the drive, in between Sebastian giving you directions, your nerves started mounting and you were asking a million questions.

"Is what I'm wearing okay? Do I need to stop and get something else to wear? Do I need to stop and get a gift? Are they into that tradition? What about my makeup? Is it too out there? Do I need to avoid any conversation topics? Should I ask or avoid asking about Romanian culture? Should I definitely ask? What about your dad? Are they both very traditional? What if I say the wrong thing?"

Sebastian continued to laugh about every third question. "(Y/n), stop worrying! It isn't the big deal you're making it out to be. They already like you because you are coming to visit when you didn't have to. The fact that you're willing to meet them shows them ahead of time how wonderful of a person you are."

"I doubt that, but even so, what if I screw it all up??"

"You won't, I promise," he said leaning in close to distract you from your anxiety. The goosebumps formed at a rapid speed, as they did in close quarters with Sebastian when he caught you off guard, giving you his "blue steel" look.

When you pulled into the driveway, no vehicles were to be seen.

"They must still be at the store. Mom's going all out for this."

"I really wish she wouldn't," you said opening the door to get out of the vehicle. "As if this already isn't intimidating enough."

Sebastian retrieved the spare key to the house and let the two of you in. You stood in the entryway, admiring the decor before you and wringing your hands nervously, unsure what to do or where to go. Sebastian stepped in behind you momentarily, closing the door. He touched the small of you back, saying "you can sit down," guiding you to the overstuffed couch.

The clicking of your boots on the hardwood floor being the only audible sound put you more on edge than before. Sebastian knew how much you hated not having background music so he quickly put on a record after getting you seated.

"I hope Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons are okay. My mom loves their music so she has all of the records. I know you loved Jersey Boys, so I'm assuming that'd be okay?" He said as he came back and sat down beside you on the couch.

"When did Isay anything about Jersey Boys?"

"When we were having coffee the day we met. You told me about how you and Caroline got student rush tickets the day of for Jersey Boys. You didn't even realize the actor who had originally played Frankie Valli was reprising it that season before filming the movie. John Lloyd Young was his name, right? I think that's what you told me."

You looked at him, a little surprised. "You remember that?"

His cheeks turned pink, slightly, and he licked his lips like he always did when he was embarrassed. "Yeh..."

Embarrassed a little yourself, you leaned against him, placing your head on his shoulder so that he couldn't see your face. "How are you so amazing?"

You felt his body begin to quiver from laughter, "just lucky, I guess."

You joined in on his laughter, that is until you heard a key in the door. You immediately sat up bolt right and scooted farther away from Sebastian before the door opened and Mrs. Fruhauf entered her home, seeing you and Sebastian sitting on her couch.


	12. The meeting with the parents.

You stood up immediately to approach her and shake her hand.

"Hello, Mrs. Fruhauf, it's so lovely to meet you, I'm (y/n)."

As you reached out your hand she refused it, going in for a hug instead. As you pulled away, you sensed Sebastian's presence close to you. He had gotten up and come up to your side. He placed his hand on the small of your back.

"(Y/n)! I'm so happy you're here! I've heard so much about you, it's so wonderful to put a face with a never ending descrip-"

"Hello, mom," Sebastian interrupted his mother to make her stop ratting him out. You couldn't stop the corners of your mouth from lifting, regardless of your embarrassment.

"Sebastian," she gave him a hug, but continued, "Anthony could use some help getting the groceries from the car. Would you go help him, please?"

"We'd love to help," you answered for Sebastian, but he only looked, smiling, at you, knowing what was coming.

"Oh, no dear, the men can get them. Why don't you have a seat and relax?"

Sebastian caught your eye and had to walk out the door to keep himself from laughing out loud.

"So, I hope you don't mind, but I thought we'd fix some Romanian dishes. Anthony is going to fix some steaks on the grill as well. I hope you like steak..."

"Yes, ma'am. That is completely fine. I'm very excited about it, actually. Oh, and I do like steak."

"Good, I'm glad. If you don't want any of it, blame Sebastian. I asked him and he thought you'd be okay with all of it."

You couldn't help but giggle at her tone and willingness to blame Seb.

"It really is okay. I'm looking forward to trying new things. However, I'm happy to blame Sebastian for everyone's sake," you joked with her in return.

Sebastian and his dad walked in the door. Sebastian, catching his name, looked between his mother and you, alarmed.

"What's happening?"

"Nothing at all, honey, we were just talking about how wonderful you are," his mother teased, causing you to cover your mouth to hide your laughter. He snorted.

"Yeh, right."

You waited for Sebastian and his dad to put down the groceries before extending your hand.

"Hello Mr. Fruhauf, how are you? I'm (y/n), it's so nice to meet you."

He took your hand to shake it and said,

"I'm well, I hope you are. It's great to meet you as well. We're happy to finally meet you. Oh, and by the way, please call me Anthony."

You nodded and smiled...it'd be difficult not to use titles.

"Why don't you two go back on in the living room. Make yourselves comfortable. Anthony and I will get things going in here."

"Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?"

"You're wasting your breath, (Y/n). Come on, let's leave them alone."

He put his arm around your waist to direct you back to the living room and ultimately the couch. As soon as you'd both sat sown, you angled your body towards him and pulled your ankle up to sit below you, before whispering,

"How have I done so far?"

He tried to keep his laughter soft.

"You've 'done'," using air quotes, "fine."

"Just fine? How do I need to step it up?"

"Easy there, overachiever. You're doing great. They love you. They already liked you, as agreed to visit. They haven't really met any of my....friends before....not in this way."

"What do you mean, 'in this way'? In what way?"

He rolled his eyes but tried to hide it by looking away. You slapped his arm playfully, causing him to laugh again.

"I don't mean anything by it. It's just you're the first female friend I've 'brought home,' so to speak."

Your eyes widened in surprise. This was definitely not a piece of information you would have expected. I mean the two of you weren't even dating, but he'd dated other women for years and they never came to his parents home and met them?

"But they met them, right?"

"I mean, yeh," he ran his hand through his hair, nerves starting to show, "in passing. They've met a few, but not anything like this. It was more in passing. They would come down to the city and we'd have dinner after an event but it was just them and me. The friend would say hello but then go do something else. A couple of them had dinner a few times, the four of us, but that was about the extent of it."

"Can I ask why?"

"Honestly...I'm not 100% sure. I do have a gut feeling, looking back, that she never liked any of them."

"Your mom?"

"Yeh. I mean, she was always friendly, but she literally has asked more about you, treated you more kindly, and shown more interest in what you think and say than she has anyone else...other than maybe Chris." He added that last part to lighten the meaning of the brevity with which he spoke. You couldn't help but laugh, but your insides had somehow swollen and deflated at the bat of an eye.

How could she be more interested in you than the other people Seb had actually dated? I mean he and the other women had been together for months or years. You had known Sebastian just over a week. The thought leveled you. Not only were you in complete shock at this information but also that it was true you and Sebastian had only known each other a little over a week. You had met his parents! "What in the world am I doing!?" You thought to yourself. Seb could see the anxiety growing quickly in your face and he pulled you into his chest.

"Please don't freak out. Please. I know you're going to, but try not to. This doesn't mean anything you don't want it to. I just want to see you happy. I've never...gained a friend, that I've trusted with my entire being, so quickly before. I don't want you to stress out about any of this. You have no reason to do so. Enjoy the Romanian food, don't let my mom being a little overzealous get to you, and please just try to not get too freaked out about everything I just told you. I just wanted, to be honest with you. I'm sorry if it was a little too much honesty."

You're breathing had slowed as he spoke. He was able to calm you down unlike anything or anyone else. He caressed your head, smoothing your hair simultaneously before kissing the top of your head comfortingly.

"I'd rather you be honest so I know what I'm up against, so thank you."

You felt him smiling at the crown of your head and you could stay in the moment, minus any mounting anxiety, forever.

"(Y/n)," his mom had entered the room without either of your knowledge. You tried to move as quickly, but stealthily, as possible off of Sebastian's chest.

"Yes ma'am!?" Your voice, slightly high pitched thanks to nerves, answered before clearing your throat and continuing. "Is there something I can do to help, please?"

"That's actually why I came in here. I was wondering if you make sweet tea?"

"Yes ma'am, I do."

"Great! I happened to be wondering if you would mind showing me how you make it in North Carolina? I got that right, right?"

Your eyebrows raised, surprised this was what she would want, but if there was a way you could help, you didn't mind. "Yes ma'am, that's right, and I wouldn't mind at all," you said while standing from the couch.

"Great! Thank you, sweetie."

She waved you into the kitchen behind her. You turned around and glanced, stress apparent on your face, at Sebastian as you followed her, and he just smirked tight-lipped at you, his eyes crinkling.

Once you were in the kitchen, she didn't waste any time.

"So how do you normally make tea? Do you purchase a specific kind? Use a specific sweetener?"

Wow. She wanted to know about making tea. You explained to her, with a lot of "uhm"s and pauses, as you were nervous, how you typically made tea, which may be a little different from others. You explained how your family went about making tea, just to bring in facts. This led to her asking more about your family and growing up in NC. You gave her pretty much all of your history (which she asked about).

"Where do you see yourself in the future, if you don't mind me asking?"

"No, I don't mind at all. I'm not 100% sure, because, I mean, I'm not even promised tomorrow. There're so many things I'd like to do, though."

"Any specifics?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind going back to school to become a counselor. I would like to move somewhere else and just work multiple jobs just to pay the bills, which I know seems silly, but it'd just be nice to live life- if that even makes sense. I'd like to travel everywhere possible. I wouldn't mind moving to another country. I'd like to be on Broadway, which is one of my more nonrealistic dreams," you tried to finish out on a humorous note.

She asked about everything you had said, one-by-one.

"I think those are all beautiful aspirations...so you lived in the mountains and loved how it looked? Were you able to see anything scenic wise on your way here today? Was it similar?"

"Oh, it was beautiful. I mean, I at least pictured it to be. With the trees bare, there wasn't a ton to see, but I just tried to picture them in my mind, and I can only imagine how gorgeous it is here in the Fall especially."

"Well, honey, when next Fall rolls around, you'll have to come visit again. It's beautiful in Spring too. I hope you can come see it then as well."

You tried to hide the fact that you were completely taken aback by the invitations, but apparently, you didn't hide it well.

"I'm sorry if I just made you uncomfortable. That wasn't my intention. I really would love for you to come back and visit...you seem like a wonderful young woman. I can tell you that I haven't ever seen Sebastian like this. He'd probably kill me if he knew I was telling you this," she lowered her voice for emphasis, "but he couldn't stay away from his phone all of Christmas. That may not seem like a lot, but he has never even attempted to use his phone at family gatherings. He normally cuts the thing off, but I've never seen him staring at a phone and smiling so much." She saw your face change slightly pink and nerves crept to your eyes. "I know you two just met, and that you're just friends, and I'm not trying to impose anything different, I'm really not...I just haven't seen my son like this, since he was a teenager and that was a teenage version of it, not the real thing. I feel that you think a lot of him," she waited for you to agree or disagree, so you simply nodded and gave a small smile, "and I know he thinks the world of you already. I just want you both to be happy. You're a wonderful person with a kind heart, much like my son. You both deserve to be happy in such a sad and dark world."

By the end of her little speech, as much as you hated doing it, you hadn't been able to stop yourself from tearing up. She noticed this and went to give you a hug.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Fruhauf. That really means a lot to me," you said, trying to keep your voice from cracking.

"You're welcome, dear. I mean it," she said just before releasing you from the hug.

You wiped the liquid from under your eyes and took a deep breath.

"So, Sebastian didn't tell me what Romanian dishes I would be able to try. Is there any way I can find out?"

"Oh sure! I figured I'd make 'Plâcinte cu brânzâ dulce' which is pretty much fried dough with a sweet cheese in the middle. I figured we could have that as a dessert option. I also got a cheesecake at the store to have. Sebastian said he thought you'd be okay with either of those options." You nodded in agreement before she continued. "As a little side dish, I planned to make 'Pomana pircului'. That's fried pork pieces which come from different parts of the pig. You eat pork, correct?"

"Yes ma'am, definitely." She laughed at your response.

"Then as a bit of an appetizer, I thought I'd make 'Ciorba de fasole cu ciolan,' a very traditional bean soup, all bean soup is a tradition in Romania, really, but this one has ham hocks in it for flavoring."

"I know all about that. My great grandmother cooked many of her vegetables with ham hocks to give them an extra kick of flavoring."

"Wonderful. I hope you'll like it, but please, if you don't, it's okay to speak up. No one will be offended or angry, I promise."

"Thank you, I'm sure I will like it, though!"

"Well good. Thank you for showing me how to make the tea. I won't take up all of your time if you'd like to go back in the living room with Sebastian."

"Are you sure there isn't anything else I can do to help?"

"There isn't. You just go relax!"

"Okay," you said, wringing your hands again, "if there's anything that I can do, please let me know."

"Sure thing," she smiled and said before returning to a boiling pot.

You walked back in and sat beside Seb, who immediately raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"So you survived? What did you two talk about?"

"Yes, I think it went well. I don't think I made a fool of myself, I hope not anyhow."

"...and you talked about?"

At his question, you simply looked at him fondly and smiled before reaching your arms out and around him, cuddling into his chest.

He huffed slightly in surprise but returned your affection.

"I'm glad we did this," you whispered. You felt his cheek move into a smile.

"So you're not going to tell me, huh?"

You couldn't help but laugh. "Not a chance."

\----------------------------

After dinner and conversation, it was nearing nine. Seb was on the couch beside you with his arm around your neck.

"We probably need to be heading back."

"Sebastian, you don't have to. We have your old room and also the guest room if you'd like to stay. We'd be happy for you guys to stay. Oh, (y/n), you never saw Sebastian's room," his mother piped up.

You felt Sebastian tense somewhat, but it was only noticeable to you.

"That's okay mom, she doesn't need to see it. I think we're just going to head on back."

You smiled to hopefully ease the growing tension. "We appreciate the offer, though."

"It's getting late, though, honey. Are you sure?? I don't want you guys too tired to drive back."

"I think we're going to meet Chris and some other friends when we get back, ma."

This was news to you, but you tried to keep that hidden.

"Oh, well (y/n), can still see your room really quick, it won't take long. She can see all the troph-"

"Mom, she doesn't need to see all that. We really need to get on the road. I'm going to go ahead and crank the car."

Why was he acting like this? It was almost cold, still respectful, but cold. After he left, Anthony followed him out, giving Mrs. Fruhauf what appeared to be a warning look that she seemingly was choosing to ignore. Once they were both out of the door, Sebastian's mother stood quickly.

"Come on, I'll show you really quick."

"Are you sure, I don't think he really wants me to."

"It's nothing but his old things and awards! I love the opportunity to brag on my boy. I'm so proud of him."

Well, you didn't want to offend her, so you followed.

She opened the door and let you in to walk around. It was a normal room. There were awards and trophies everywhere. A big NASA poster hung above the bed and a Romanian flag on the walls. You started to laugh as you noticed a Sharon Stone poster on his closet door. As you looked towards the mirror and dresser, you immediately recognized the female in almost every picture displayed. There were about four photos on the dresser and five taped across the mirror. They were all photos of Seb and his ex of three years. You couldn't help but stare at them, frozen. You only looked up when you heard

"Mom, where's (y/n), why is my door op-" he stopped speaking as he stepped into the doorway and saw the look on your face.


	13. The moment.

Your face had lost its color and you stared at him. You had no right to be upset, but the idea that Sebastian may still be in love with his ex bothered you. Your eyes involuntarily began to fill with tears as you gazed at Seb, feeling helpless. He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He approached you slowly, unsure of what was going to happen next. When he saw you weren't going to answer, he tried to explain.

"(Y/n)...I haven't been here in a while. I mean, I've been here, but I don't really come up here. If I did, these would have been gone a long time ago. I swear, (y/n), it's over between us. Pleas-"

He stopped speaking as you stepped up to him and collapsed onto his chest, burrowing your face there. You snaked your arms under his and reached your hands towards the top of his shoulder blades. You knew he was shocked by this reaction when it took him a moment before he enclosed you tightly in his embrace. Tears wet his shirt but he didn't say anything, he simply held you.

"Seb, I have no right to be upset with you, therefore I'm not. I just...it hurt, if I'm being honest...I don't even know why...I do believe you, though. It's okay. I'm okay. We're okay." You pulled away but didn't let go yet. "I'm going to bid your parents farewell and I'll be in the car, okay?"

He nodded, still unsure what to say as he released you. You gave him a small smile and headed out the door. As soon as you were out the door, Sebastian grabbed every photo and began to tear them to shreds, before throwing them into the trash. Sebastian's mother and father were sitting in the living room. When you entered Mrs. Fruhauf stood immediately, fret clear on her face as she took in your red-rimmed eyes.

"(Y/n), I'm so sorry, I didn't realize... please...there really isn't..."

"Mrs. Fruhauf, it's okay. Thank you for having me. It has been a wonderful day. I very much enjoyed my time here. Thank you, Mr....Anthony, sorry" you corrected yourself as Anthony stood from his chair to say goodbye. "I'm so glad we were able to meet. Goodbye."

They said quiet goodbyes as you walked out of the door and went to the vehicle. When they saw you were in the vehicle, they turned around to see their son.

"Honey, I am so very sorry. I didn't realize those were still there. I hope (y/n) is okay. I hope I didn't make things poor between the two of you. I really like her and-"

"Mom, I...I'll see you guys later. I love you."

"Sebastian please, can't-"

"Ma, I don't want to talk about it right now, please."

"Let it go, hun" Anthony told his wife, placing his hand on her shoulder lightly.

Sebastian hugged his parents before walking out the door and to the vehicle. He noticed you had chosen the passenger side, meaning he would be driving home, which was okay with him. It worried him, though.

It was a quiet ride back to the city. You didn't have anything to say and Seb didn't know what to say either.

You were about 20 miles outside of the city when the perfect song came on. You reached to the volume control and turned it up.

"Then you come crashing in, like the realest thing  
Trying my best to understand all that your love can bring  
Oh half of my heart's got a grip on the situation  
Half of my heart takes time  
Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you  
That I can't keep loving you (can't keep loving you)  
Oh, with half of my heart...

Your faith is strong  
But I can only fall short for so long  
Down the road, later on  
You will hate that I never gave more to you than half of my heart..."

You looked out the window so that Seb couldn't see the tears trailing down your face as the song came to a close. When he parked the vehicle and got out, you quickly wiped your face as he came around the other side to open the door for you.

You stepped out and waited for him to lock up and join you as you walked to the elevator to get back upstairs from the garage.

"By the way, did we really have plans with Chris?"

"...no. I mean unless you wanted me to check with them."

"No, that's okay. I'd actually just prefer to go to sleep."

"Okay."

Once upstairs, Sebastian unlocked the door and Chloe went crazy. She ran past Sebastian and to you when you had both entered the apartment.

You knelt down so that she would calm down as you petted her. When Sebastian walked back into the living room with pillows and comforters, it caused you both to look at him. Chloe immediately trotted over to him, sensing something was wrong. You stood to your full height.

"Seb, what are you doing?"

"...I, uhh...figured that I would just sleep on the couch tonight."

You walked over to the chair and sat, putting your face in your hands and taking a deep breath, still trying to decide whether to open up about your feelings.

"Seb..."

By the time you looked up at him, tears were stinging your eyes again. You tried again.

"Seb, I uhh, I know that you want to be more...more than friends."

"(Y/n), it's okay. You don't have to do this. I'm okay with being friends, just as long as I have you in my life."

"Please just let me put this out in the open because it's just going to continue to eat me alive. It'll ease at least a little bit if I can explain myself."

You paused and waited to see if he'd let you continue without interruption.

"I'd be...lying, if I said that I only wanted friendship from you. I think you know that already, though. I just....I can't help but worry if we ever did divulge into a relationship...the...I don't even know...after effects? I just...I guess part of me is scared because I mean...I don't have the time or finances to visit all the time. You're frequently gone and busy on top of that. Obviously, a long distance relationship is stressful enough...but it wouldn't just be a long distance relationship. I mean...we live very different lives. In your line of work, you meet so many different people. Interesting....extremely beautiful people," you saw he was about to interrupt, "please let me finish....for me, I interact with children and parents of children, no one interesting basically. I know you're a wonderful person, I don't doubt that at all...I just..I don't even half know, I just....worry....what would happen if we pursued something. I just can't help but fear....you'd meet someone better than me and...I don't know if I could bear that. I know you'd never hurt me purposefully, but as cliche as it sounds, and even though I hate the song, the heart wants what it wants. I mean...I look at things like I saw tonight. That was different. She understood your life because she lived a similar one. We don't. That's okay for friends, but I can't help but feel like that would be a possibly problematic factor in a romantic relationship...I just...I don't want to lose you," you looked at the floor as you finished, ashamed of how you felt.

He didn't make any move towards you, it didn't even seem like he would look at you, making the situation all the worse.

"(Y/n), that's all okay. I wish you wouldn't feel like that or worry about any of that, but I can only try to counter that with my actions. I can't do much else to change that, but I'll try....and I'm not going to lie, that doesn't change my mind or the way I feel. I mean this when I say it, (y/n), so please don't take it lightly, I'll wait for you as long as it takes. I'll try not to push, but just know I'll wait. That's how much you mean to me."

You didn't know what to say in response, so in an attempt at a subject change you asked him softly, "please don't make me sleep alone?"

He shared a small grin with you before taking your hand and leading you to the bedroom.

\---------------

That Friday was wide open as there had been no plans made. You couldn't sleep past 7 so you got up and moved to the living room so that Seb could sleep. You made some coffee upon entering the kitchen. Once you had poured a cup you went through the living room and crawled into the nook at the window to look out of the window, a blanket wrapped around you.

Your thoughts were scrambled, it didn't help that it was early. You thought back over all the time you'd known Seb. You thought about how you felt about him before you had met him and how much more amazing he was after you had gotten to know him. He had put up with quite a bit, including some of your worst moments. He had taken it in stride and still wanted you around. He had seen the rawness of your full-fledged anger and the insecurities that, when they crept up on you, tore down your mental stability. He had seen you happy of course too and maybe that was why he still wanted to be around.

Despite all of that, though, you didn't know if you could give him what he wanted. You had been completely open about how you felt last night. That was your biggest concern, being forgotten and forsaken for some gorgeous actress he would meet on a job. You had seen the women he had dated and you were a far cry from what he was used to. You weren't from the same world as them, not cut from the same cloth. You weren't fancy, you didn't live lavishly. You hadn't been all over the world to take in other cultures. You didn't feel like you could ever live up to that.

...On the other hand...Sebastian seemed to look past all of that. He seemed to enjoy those aspects of you. It appeared that he found them endearing. For instance, when you met everyone and didn't have any clue about half of the menu or conversation, whenever you looked his way or even checked your peripheral vision, you couldn't help but notice the small, pleased smile on his face. It was reminiscent of the way Bucky looked at Steve in Civil War after Steve got his unnecessary-to-the-film kiss from Sharon. He didn't seem embarrassed by you, even though you had definitely done some embarrassing things in the presence of not only him but the public, but he found it funny instead of unseemly.

You heard the clicking of paw nails on the hardwood floor right beside you. You hadn't even heard Chloe thanks to being so deep in your thoughts. You tapped the cushion beside you so that she'd jump up with you. She did so and once up there, laid her head in your lap so that you could caress her head and scratch behind her ears. You smiled down at her before taking another long sip of your coffee, you'd have to refill it soon, and looking back at the window, attempting to clear your thoughts a small bit.

In this process, you didn't hear the shuffling of bare feet coming down the hall and approaching you. Sebastian leaned down, putting his chest on your back and squeezing your arms in a hug, causing you to jump and almost slosh the remainder of your coffee in your lap.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I figured you heard me coming down the hall."

"It's okay, it isn't your fault. I was zoned out."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeh," you strived for a convincing smile, but knew it wasn't going to work.

He let it go, though, knowing you didn't want to talk about whatever it was. He kissed the top of your head before simply saying "okay. Would you like some more coffee?"

"Yes, actually, but I can get it."

"No, you sit there, I got it. Depending upon how strong you made it today, two or three spoons of sugar?"

For some reason, you were surprised that he knew that. "I put two in the last cup, so we'll go with that, and just a-"

"touch of cream so that it resembles a light skinned Filipino?"

You looked at him fondly, the corners of your mouth lifting.

"Yes, that's right."

He fixed your cup first, before fixing himself one and joining you and Chloe in the nook.

You thanked him as he handed you your cup.

"Do you have something, in particular, you'd like to do today?"

"I mean, I don't have anything in particular, no," you replied, racking your brain to see if there were something you could think of.

He looked out the window at the cloudy sky, noting that more than likely it was going to snow soon. "How about a show? We haven't been to one since you've been here. Or a film? We could drive out of the city and find something. I don't care what it is as long as we're together and you have a good time. I know you did a lot of touristy stuff when you were here with Beth and Caroline..."

"A show would be great, actually. I wasn't able to really see but one when I was in town before. It isn't really their thing."

"Hold on."

He jumped from the nook and ran to what it seemed, the bedroom. Thankfully, he had placed his coffee on the window ledge before leaping into action. When he came running back into the living room, he was on the phone.

"Hold on please, Susan." He looked at you, shifting the phone away from his mouth, "how would you like to go see 'Hamilton'?"

Your eyes grew, practically to the size of dessert saucers. "Are you serious!? I thought 'Hamilton' was sold out for the rest of the season?"

"So that's a 'yes'?"

"YES! Oh my gosh, YES SEB!"

He smiled at your response, holding back a laugh. "Susan, that'd be great. Thank you so much."

"WE'RE GOING TO SEE 'HAMILTON'?!"

"I take it you're not excited at all," he said smirking.

"How is this happening? They were sold out! I checked months ago and every single show was sold out, Seb! How is this happening!?"

He stood up and headed for the kitchen with his empty cup.

"There are perks to this whole actor thing, believe it or not."

You left your cup on the window ledge, hopped up and ran after him, practically jumping on his back and wrapping your arms around his toned torso tightly.

He started laughing, which was difficult to do with you squeezing him so tight.

"Okay, okay, I can't breathe. Can I turn around for a proper hug?"

"Quickly!" You loosened your grip just enough so that he could turn around to face you. "Oh my gosh, Seb," you started and before you could stop yourself when his eyes met your crinkled ones, "I could just kiss you," slipped from your lips.

Both of you were shocked at your words. After a moment of reading each other's eyes, he saw you needed a little assistance.

He started to chuckle as he said, "guess what!? We're going to see 'Hamilton'"!

This made you squeal and jump up and down in his arms. He smiled and pulled you into his chest, placing his hand on the back of your head and you leaned into him fully.

"Thank you so much, Sebastian."

Your words were slow, full of emotion, all of the thoughts from the morning and now your overflowing joy catching up with your voice.

"You're welcome, love."

You pulled back grinning.

"Oh, since when did you become English?"

"I know how much you love the English, so I figured I'd throw it out there," he said before rolling his eyes and releasing you. "Well, it's a matinee, if that's okay? Therefore, we should probably get ready."

"How long do we have?"

He looked at the microwave clock before saying "we have about three hours before we need to be there."

"Three hours?" You shrieked and took off for the bedroom.

Sebastian ran after you, alarmed.

"Yeh...(Y/n), what's wrong?"

As you were ripping clothes out of your suitcase to change into, you whipped around. "Seb! We only have three hours before we have to be there! That's not long!" You went back to getting your clothes together. "Do you think that dress from dinner Wednesday will be okay?"

"(Y/n), you don't have to get dressed up like that. You can, but I wasn't planning on doing so, especially not for a matinee."

This stopped you. "You're not dressing up?"

"(Y/n), it's 20 degrees outside, it's probably going to snow, and I'd rather be warm and comfortable for that, so no, I'm not. You're more than welcome to, but I wouldn't suggest it."

"Oh...okay, well....I'll figure it out after getting out of the shower. Do I need to use the guest shower so you can get ready?"

"No, all of your things are in mine, just use it. I have stuff in the guest bathroom, I'll use it."

"Thanks!"

You quickly showered and decided to curl your hair once it was dry. While Sebastian was getting ready in the other room, you had chosen a teal lace cut out dress to wear, but for now were slipping your pajamas back on. The sleeves, shoulders, back and chest (down to the top of your breasts) of the dress were see through, thanks to the lace and below that the underlining kept the dress from being immodest. It probably wouldn't be the warmest, but throwing on an extra pair of tights, a fluffy coat, and heeled boots should keep you fairly warm.

You began to curl your hair after finishing your makeup. You got to the back of your head and accidentally hit the back of your hand with the curling iron. You exclaimed and Sebastian stepped into the doorway. "You okay!?"

"Yeh," you stuck your hand under the faucet to run cool water over it. "I just burned my hand."

"Would you like me to help?"

You looked at him, confused. "Help with what?"

"Curling your hair. It's difficult to reach the back I imagine."

"...you know what to do?"

"I'm not an idiot, (Y/N), besides I've watched it done a million times on set. I may have picked up a few things by now."

"Okay...sure." You said before extending the iron out to him. He quickly curled the remaining straight strands.

"Wow, Seb. Thank you, it looks great."

"You did most of the work," he said, his cheeks heating.

"Well, what you did looks wonderful too." You gave him a kiss on the cheek as a thank you, trying not to bust out laughing when the color peeked across his cheekbones. "Now let me get dressed and I'll be ready."

"Okay, I'll grab my jacket and be in the living room."

You nodded before following him to the bedroom door and closing it behind him. Once finished, you walked into the living room.

"I hope this looks okay because I'm not changing."

His eyebrows shot up at the sight of you. "You look absolutely beautiful," he said in a husky voice.

You rolled your eyes at him, trying to play off the compliment. He stood from the couch, grabbing his jacket, and headed your way.

"I think I'll be warm enough, I hope so anyway."

He slid his arms around your waist and pulled you in close as he said seductively, "I'll keep you warm."

You didn't go into his chest, but your heart was about to beat out of yours. You bent your torso back just a small bit so that you could look into his eyes, but you soon got lost in them. Your stomach began to turn and jump, your skin prickling due to the sudden heat between the two of you. He peered deeply into your eyes, almost like he was staring into the very depth of your being, taking in all of the thoughts and emotions you had ever had or felt in your entire life. It was almost as if he could read your thoughts, which would be fairly embarrassing considering all you wanted to do at the moment was kiss him- his lips, his chest, his everything- with every ounce of passion left in your body before pushing him onto the couch and ripping off his clothing. He licked his lips, which pulled you out of your trance.

"W-ahh," you coughed to try and stall, attempting to gather words instead of gibberish, "it's gett-, time is hap- ....fuck me!"

He dipped you back before saying "well, okay then," acting as if he was about to devour you before busting out laughing and kissing your cheek when he saw your eyebrows almost reach your hairline. He lifted you back up, dropping his hands. "I don't think you meant, literally, right?"

You attempted to chuckle, but your face was the color of mercury in a thermometer and your throat was closing due to the excitement every cell in your body had just been shocked with. You took a deep breath before trying again. A more successful laugh broke from your lips.

"No. Sorry to disappoint." You winked at him. "I couldn't speak English anymore apparently. I just was trying to say-"

"That it's getting late and we should probably head out."

"Yes! Why couldn't you have helped me out like that before? Rude ass."

"It was much more entertaining watching you struggle."

"Oh, shut up. Seriously, we need to go."

Luckily you arrived on time, despite the traffic. Your cab driver had been a great one, taking short cuts to avoid traffic.

The show passed without any embarrassing moments, other than of course you crying, both tears of overwhelming joy at the beauty of the Theatre you loved so much and of sadness when those moments came in the musical. Sebastian simply grabbed your hand in his right, sliding his left arm around your shoulders in comfort.

When you stepped out of the theater, it was snowing and your inner child overpowered your outer adult.

You ran into the snow, out from under the shelter by the door and spun around in circles, looking up at the snow falling down.

"Seb!! It's snowing!"

"I can see that," he chuckled.

"Hush! We hardly ever get snow in NC, let me enjoy this."

He rushed to you as you spun around, and the next thing you knew, your feet had left the ground and Seb was spinning you now. You shrieked in exhilaration and slight embarrassment.

"Seb, put-me-down," you said between laughs and gasps of air.

He followed your directions, slowly lowering you to the ground.

Once your feet were back on the ground, you turned to face him, grinning.

"You're crazy, you know that."

"For you, yeh, I know," he said before sticking his tongue out at you.

"Can we walk? At least for a little while?" You didn't care about your feet bothering you right now, you cared about being out in the snow as long as possible.

"Sure, if that's what you want."

You nodded, smiling, and pulling your coat tighter around you before slipping your arm through his, gripping his bicep.

As you walked you spoke about the snow and the differences in Romanian, NY, and NC winters. It was almost comical how something so insignificant and causal could be so exciting with Sebastian.

As you walked through the city in the snow, it seemed even more magical. Whether that was a mixture of the city and snow, or city, snow, and Sebastian, you weren't sure, but you wished you could live in that moment forever.

You laid your head against his arm, due to the height difference you couldn't quite reach his shoulder, as you walked for a few moments, trying to put every sight, thought, and emotion permanently in your brain.

Before you knew it, you were walking into Central Park. Had you really walked 20+ blocks already? You didn't know because your feet were so numb due to their coldness, that you felt no pain. You realized that your entire body was numb, causing your body to begin to shiver. Seb noticed immediately.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to admit you're freezing."

"I did-d-n-nt rea-real-ize."

He couldn't help but laugh. He snaked his arm out of yours so that he could pull off his overcoat.

"No, Seb, you'll freeze!"

"I'll be fine, we only have another eight blocks or so. Besides, I have this extra jacket on. Here."

He placed the coat on your shoulders, wrapping it around you as the Elvis Costello song, "Still" came to his mind.

"These few lines I'll devote to a marvelous girl, covered up in my coat. Pull it up to your chin I'll hold you until the day will begin..." he began singing to you softly.

"You know that song!? I love that song!"

He nodded and pulled you closer into his side as he continued.

"...there are no words that I'm afraid to hear," but you joined him on the next line. "Unless they are 'goodbye my dear.' Still. I was moving very fast but in one place. Now you speak my name and set my pulse to race." You let him finish the song on his own so that you could listen to his soothing and lush voice.

Once he finished, you simply smiled, taking in his presence and the beauty of the moment. He brushed the top of your head with his lips, placing one of the gentlest kisses there. Comfortable silence hung in the air between you all the way back to his apartment.


	14. The eve of new years.

You decided to spend the night in as it was the last one you'd be able to spend, just the two of you. You cuddled on the couch (when Chloe wasn't snuggled between you) for most of the evening, watching movies, eating greasy pizza and drinking Moscato. "I want to keep things semi-fancy, we have to, considering we're in New York," you had told him. He rolled his eyes, clucking his tongue, but he didn't argue it and poured the glasses full. You were yawning by 9:30, but there were still two movies you had planned to watch.

"Why don't we watch the other two in the bedroom?"

"I'm okay with that, actually, if you're sure you are," you replied.

"Yeh, go ahead in there, and I'll get this stuff cleaned up and put away real quick."

"I'll help, Seb."

"(Y/n), it'll literally take five minutes. I've got it. Why don't you get the movies ready?"

"Fine."

When Seb entered, you were rubbing your arms because all you had brought to sleep in were tank tops and bottoms.

"Are you cold," he asked.

"Yeh, a little. I didn't bring any t-shirts or sweatshirts to wear to bed. I'd wear ones I brought to wear out, but they're dirty."

"Here, you can wear this one if you'd like? It's already warm." He pulled the t-shirt he was wearing off from the bottom and over his head, revealing how low his sweatpants were sitting on his hips as the undershirt he had been wearing, pulled up simultaneously. Your eyes ran down from his toned shoulders to that sharp v jutting in between his hips, and he didn't miss this.

"Well, if I had known you were going to undress me with your eyes, I wouldn't have done all the work," he said as he threw the shirt at you. You were still mesmerized by his body, missing the chance to catch the shirt, so it landed on your face.

His laughter filled the room so that it echoed against the windows and walls. You left the shirt on your face to avoid revealing the candy apple red shade your neck and cheeks contained due to your embarrassment.

"That was so rude," you muttered through the shirt, but loud enough he could hear.

"I'm rude? You were the one objectifying my luscious body." He cackled at his own words, louder than before.

"Oh, whatever! I thought I saw a bug on you."

"Yeh, okay. Maybe I'll believe that in my next life....are you going to wear the shirt like that to bed?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm waiting for someone to hand it to me politely," you lightly bit the words in his direction.

At this, he walked over to you, still chuckling softly and slowly pulled the shirt off of your head. Thankfully, your face had turned more to a soft pink by the time he saw your face. He looked into your eyes, his own playful like a mischievous fox, and smiled as he folded the shirt and handed it to you.

"Is this better, my queen?"

Oh, he wanted to play games?

"Yes, peasant, much better. Don't let such a travesty happen again."

"Yes, ma'am. Let me help you."

He took the shirt back from you and unfolded it. He held it out so that you could put your arms through, before your head, and he pulled it down, unhurriedly, over your chest and torso. As he did this, your skin began to prickle as your stomach began to jump up and down in your body, there were no butterflies, it was like bombs going off. You were reminded of the scene in Finding Nemo where the bombs go off accidentally after the shark goes crazy. You tried to hide these things, but you heard yourself gulp loudly and he felt the goosebumps rising on your arms. He looked down into your eyes, not helping at all. He smirked, as cocky as the gymnast self-proclaimed god he had portrayed two years earlier. You shivered before running and jumping into the bed and quickly covering your entire body, including your face.

"It's so cold out there!" You complained from under the covers, attempting to play off what had just occurred.

He just made an "uh, huh" sound in response as he cut off the lights, closed the door so Chloe couldn't get in, switched on the tv and DVD player before crawling into bed beside you. As you hadn't come out from under the covers, he crawled completely under the covers as well and scooted close to you so that your faces were just an inch or two apart. He reached around your torso, pulling your body into his.

"Are you warming up yet," he asked in a dark, mischievous manner.

You couldn't quite form words, afraid that if you tried your willpower would be exhausted and you would ravage his entirety then and there. His face approached yours at a glacial pace. You only had a split second before his lips would meet yours. You stuck your tongue out, licking his nose, and quickly pulled your face from under the covers, cackling at his response.

"(Y/n)!!!! You're going to pay for that!"

He was still under the covers and you realized quickly this was an indefensible position. Immediately you were laughing so hard you couldn't breathe, he was tickling your ribs, not relenting despite your pleas, kicks, and shouts. After about 30 seconds, he came out from under the covers, long enough for you to catch your breath before he straddled you, and began tickling you again. Your laughter and pleas for him to stop started again, but he was relentless. Finally, when he couldn't breathe anymore due to laughing at you, he stopped tickling you but didn't remove himself from on top of you. He sat, watching you catch your breath, smiling in delight at the ecstasy upon your face that he had caused.

As you drifted off of your high, your eyes hazy from the moment and the tears your laughter had brought, you looked up at him sleepily, taking in the shine on his upper lip, wanting more than anything for him to kiss you...but you knew everything would change. He was breaking you down, though. You knew it and you were pretty sure he knew it as well.

He grabbed your hands, intertwining your fingers and lifted them above your head, pressing ever so lightly into the pillows as he leaned down close to you, placing your faces close once again. This time you had no defense. He was going to kiss you. This was it. The moment everything was going to change. There was nothing you could do about it.

Suddenly I'm helpless  
Oh, look at those eyes  
I look into your eyes and the sky's the limit  
I'm helpless  
Down for the count  
And I'm drowning in them  
I am so into you

The song from the musical earlier popped into your head, how fitting. You closed your eyes just before his face was in reach and the next thing you felt was that your nose was wet with slobber. You eyes fly open in surprise, slightly shrieking from shock and disgust, but immediately you started laughing as Sebastian rolled off of you and onto the bed beside you, still angling his body towards you. You continued to laugh, him joining you, as you rolled into his chest as he hugged you tightly.

"You're such a douche."

"You love it."

"Yeh, yeh, yeh," but you were smiling into his chest as you said it. The movie was never watched, you fell asleep in his arms and the next thing you knew it was morning.

When you had both awoken, Sebastian asked if you'd be interested in attending a New Year's Eve party that many of the Marvel people that were in NY were getting together for.

"Uhhh, duh! That'd be awesome!"

"Alright," he began after replying letting them know we'd be joining, "what to do until then?" He wiggled his eyebrows at you. As you rolled your eyes, he brought up that he had told Don he'd go to the gym for a short bit.

"Actually, not that I don't want to spend time with you, but that'd be the perfect opportunity for me to go shopping for the party. I'd like to have a new outfit because I'm not feeling what I brought."

"Okay, well that works for me. You're sure you don't want to go workout with me, though? I'll let you sit and stare at me if you'd rather do that," he said winking.

"Oh my gosh! That joke is ancient, let it go already."

He chuckled before looking over at the clock.

"I guess I better get on up, I told him I'd be there about 10."

"So if I leave the same time as you, that'll give me about an hour and a half?"

"You can take as long as you'd like. They're going to dinner around seven and the party will probably start getting geared up around nine thirty. I figured we could get dinner and meet them over there at some point, we could walk around the city for a little beforehand if you'd like. The party is taking place at a lounge that overlooks the city where it isn't in Times Square, but you have just about a full view of it."

"That's fine with me. All of that, I mean."

You both got ready for your separate trips. When you reached the front door to his building, he gave you a hug and a kiss on the cheek before you went separate ways.

You wanted something pretty dressy because this was New York on New Year's Eve. The city seemed to buzz even louder than normal and the liveliness of the city had grown exponentially from just yesterday. You avoided Times Square and instead headed Northwest.

A few stores you stopped in had such atrocious outfits that you had to try them on and send the pictures to Seb, joking with him saying you were getting them to wear to dinner and the party. That should be plenty interesting for his post workout viewing. However, he must have had his phone close as he would immediately text you back with responses like: "so sexy," or "no one will look at you strangely at all," and one time even "if you attempt to wear that I'll rip it off and redress you." The last response, while not meant sexually definitely made you blush and your mind wheels to start turning.

You saw a few things you liked but wanted to explore more options so you hopped on the subway and decided to get off in Upper Manhattan to try and find something. After another hour with no luck, you decided to head back and pick up one of the outfits that would do but that you weren't crazy about. Just as you were about to walk down to the subway, you saw it in the dress shop across the street. It was perfect.

As you were checking out, you received a text.

How's shopping going?

I actually am checking out now.

Really? So what did you get? ;)

You'll have to wait and see?

I swear, (y/n), if you bought that cow skin, zebra, thing, that looks like a bullfrog in disguise outfit I'm not going.

Bahahahha-how did you know? Now I can hang out with all the cool people by myself . :p

Damn skippy. I refuse to be seen with you.

Rude.

......you didn't get that outfit did you.....

No.

Good. So where are you now?

I'm in Upper Manhattan. I'm about to get on the subway now so I should be back shortly. Are you still at the gym?

I just left actually. I was going to see if you wanted to get some lunch depending on how your shopping was going.

Yeh, that'd be great. I want to take this outfit back to the apartment, though, if that's okay?

Yeh, perfectly fine. I'll meet you back there. Stay safe.

You too, boo bear

Oh, cut me some slack, woman.

I'll cut you.

I'm real scared. Why don't you say it to my face?

Give me 20 minutes and I will.

I'd like to see you try....seriously, though, stay safe.

I will. You do the same.

When you got back to the apartment, Sebastian had already showered and was putting on a sweater as you entered. Chloe was close at his heels but trotted up to you as you closed the door behind you. You gave her a quick head rub, while simultaneously avoiding Seb's grabbing hands.

"No, sir. You don't get to see it until tonight."

"Oh, come on, please?"

"Nope!"

"Fine. Where would you like to eat?"

"I don't know," you called behind you as you went to hang the dress up in the bedroom. "I wouldn't say anything too greasy or heavy. I'm feeling a little sluggish from vegging out last night. I probably should have gone and worked out, honestly," you continued your thought as you walked back down the hallway to meet him in the kitchen area by the door."

"How about this little Greek place down on the street?"

"Greek would be awesome! I haven't had it in forever. How do you always know the perfect thing?"

"I'm just awesome like that, I guess," he joked, winking at you.

After lunch, the sun had come out so you two decided to enjoy Central Park before heading back. Seb had made reservations at this swanky, well-hidden restaurant at 7 p.m. It was only a few blocks away from the apartment to avoid the masses of people coming in for the big NYE bash. Around 5 p.m. the two of you headed back to the apartment to get ready, with the process being much like the day before. Seb went ahead and took all of his clothing with him to the other room saying: "if I can't see yours, you can't see mine."

You rolled your eyes at him and went to getting ready. By the time you were ready, it was about 6:30, which put you just on time. You looked yourself over in the mirror, trying to check every detail in order to look as perfect and put together as you could. You checked again three more times, each time taking a long and deep breath before and after. Finally, you built up the courage to walk out of the bedroom and down the hall. The sound of your heels clicking on the hardwood drew Seb's attention from playing with Chloe. From what you could see, he was wearing what appeared to be a deep midnight blue perfectly tailored suit over a black buttondown and black skinny tie. The blue seemed to deepen the blue in his eyes and made the pink of his lips pop. His hair was styled your favorite way, slicked back on the sides, with just the hint of a quiff at the front. He didn't say a word as you approached. He didn't even rise. He stared at you, his eyes slowly caressing every inch of your body. He took in your black with clover trim illusion cut dress. His eyes followed the flow of your long hair that fell across your shoulders and down your back, which led to the mesh-like material that dropped into the v between your breasts. His eyes fell there for just a second longer before they moved down your waist to the way the dress hugged your sashaying hips in all the right places, then to the floor where he could just see the heels you had worn to dinner the other evening. Seeing he had taken in your outfit, you pulled your hair over one shoulder as you turned sideways so he could see the back...literally your back. The mesh material covered your entire back, all the way to the modest end of your spine. He couldn't hide the look on his face, no matter how hard he tried. His jaw had dropped and his eyes dilated. After he didn't move, you walked closer to him, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him up. He stumbled a bit and when you went to pull him in closer to you, he held one hand in front of his waist and one extended to you to wordlessly tell you no.

This reaction hurt your feelings, it not being what you had wanted or expected.

"....I look bad?" Your eyes betrayed you as you began to tear up slightly.

His eyes grew large.

"What!? God no! No no! You look the exact opposite. I-oh God, please don't cry. That's not it at all."

You nodded, still confused as to why he had pushed you away.

"(Y/n), please no. You don't understand....you look...wow. I mean beautiful doesn't even begin to describe you. I literally...don't know a word in English....or even fucking Romanian... to tell you how wonderful to look." He saw that this wasn't helping. "It's just ahh, you look...a little too beautiful. Just ahh, I need a few moments is all."

Your face scrunched, still confused, but then you looked at him fully, noticing where his hand was hovering and realized that he was turned on. Your face and neck flashed red like the changing of a street light before you started giggling like a school girl on crack. It was so awkwardly hilarious that the best way you felt to deal with it was to laugh.

"It's not funny, (Y/n). Dammit. Why did you have to pick an outfit like that to wear? I'm not going to be able to look at you all night."

"Just stay seated and you'll be alright," you couldn't help but joke with him. If he hadn't been so adorable being embarrassed like he was, it wouldn't have been nearly as funny, nor would you have had the guts to joke about it. "Well, how about I go wait in the car while you take your few minutes to try and contain yourself." You stepped up to him, leaving your torso a distance away and leaning forward to grab him by the tie. You pulled him down and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing your clutch and walking out the door.

He was down shortly after and you went to dinner. Over dinner, Sebastian let you talk more than normal as he simply took in the way you looked. The more you spoke, the longer he looked at you, and the more he looked at you, the more wine disappeared. Before you knew it, you had finished off two bottles alone. By the time the bill came, you had switched to water so as not to show up completely drunk to the party as you were sure to drink there as well.

The party had an open bar, but champagne seemed like the most fitting drink for NYE. You took it easy on the drinks, still a little woozy from the wine earlier. Knowing this, Seb didn't remove his hand from the small of you back for the first hour and a half of the party. Despite your begging not to, Seb had to go around and introduce you to everyone, which while exciting, was also a little terrifying and embarrassing, but the glow on his face stopped you from complaining too much.

Around 11, Chris and Anthony were beckoning Sebastian to them for some man time, or so it seemed. Elizabeth stood with you and continued your conversation about your trip to New York thus far, among other things.

Scarlett walked over with Anthony's wife and joined the two of you in your conversation. It wasn't long before the dreaded question came up.

"So....(y/n), what's the deal with you and Sebastian?" Scarlett was the brave one.

You gave them a small smile, suddenly uncomfortable, "there's no deal really."

"Are y'all still friends or more? We like to keep an eye on him is all. You have appeared to be mighty cozy this evening. I noticed he hasn't left your side until just a moment ago, not to mention that he also hasn't been able to keep his hands off of you." Scarlett was putting you under pressure, whether she meant to come off a little overly straightforward or not, you were unsure.

"It's not actually any of our business, (y/n), so if it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to talk about it with us. I think Scarlett is just interested because we haven't ever seen him this open and joyful. Normally he is pretty reserved, but this Sebastian is one we haven't really seen." Elizabeth tried to ease your nerves, and to an extent it did help, but even though she was trying to be kind, it didn't completely rid you of your nerves or the obligatory feeling to answer their questions.

"We're just friends, really."

"I'm guessing that's your decision." Anthony's wife said point blank, catching you off guard. What it must be like to live in the house of Mackie with two people who SO forwardly speak their mind. Your eyes searched for Seb, wanting to run far away from the group, away from their questions, and somewhat judging eyes. You found his as you searched for a way to answer. You tried to look away quickly as to not show your alarm, but he picked up on it immediately and began making his way across the room to you.

"Uhh, well, I mean...he, well I..." but before you could explain Seb stepped up to the group.

"You ladies mind if I steal (y/n)?"

A chorus of "no"s came forth as you walked over to him. He took your arm in his as he led you away from the group. He walked over to the coat attendant, asking for your coats.

"Where are we going," you asked when the coat attendant left your presence.

"I want to take you out on the balcony. Is that okay?"

"Yeh, that'd be great. I was just worried something was wrong."

He got the coats, holding yours out for you to slide your arms into it before wrapping yourself up. He slid his jacket on as you walked across the room towards the balcony exit.

"Well, you tell me. The look I received from across the room didn't look like a happy go lucky one."

"Oh, I, ahm, it was nothing."

As the two of you approached the edge of the balcony, he leaned onto the railing with his elbows, looking out at the city.

"Let me guess, you were getting the fifth degree with questions about us."

You looked at him, surprised that he had guessed. "How..."

"Me too. The guys wouldn't talk about anything else."

"Oh. Wow.....why do people have to stick their noses in other people's business? I mean, I know it's because they care about you, and I appreciate that...but does every question have to be put out in the open?"

You sighed deeply, leaning against the railing as well, watching your breath slowly rise into the air.

"I know you have to go back tomorrow, but I don't want you to."

Your lips curled into a smile, a little shocked, yet pleased by this random confession. You stepped in closer to him, letting him wrap his arm around you as you looked out over the lights and crowds of people.

"Me either, but yes, I have to. If I didn't, I wouldn't."

The two of you stood there a little while longer before going back inside to warm up and prepare for the ending of the year.

With about 10 minutes left before the ball dropped, everyone began to gather in a large group to watch the ball drop both on the televisions hanging around the lounge, and if you were lucky enough, through the glass wall facing Times Square. You two were at the back of the crowd, near the glass wall, but had put a small distance between the group and yourselves.

When it was down to 15 seconds left, you noticed Seb down the glass of champagne in his hand. You laughed and followed suit, just in time for the countdown.

"10, 9, 8," the crowd cheered together, Sebastian beside you yelling loudly with them in different accents, causing you to laugh. "7, 6, 5," he looked at you laughing, and trying to count. "3, 2," you looked back to him to finish off the countdown. "1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

As soon as the last syllable left your lips, they were met by Sebastian's. When your mind caught up with what was happening, you kissed him back, slowly. When you kissed him back, he snaked his arms around your lower back, pulling you gently into him.

All sound in the room was deafened by the rapidly growing excitement and joy that seemed to be flowing from inside to outside, then back again. All that was in that moment was his hands, his mouth, and the heat crawling over your skin.

Your hands raised from your side, one to his shoulder and one into his hair. The kiss was still soft, but it was full of emotion, full of sensual relief. His right hand moved from your hip to your cheek, caressing it as the kiss continued. When you finally pulled away for air, your eyes couldn't open quite yet. He placed his forehead on yours and breathed lightly into your face. After a moment, you opened your eyes, peering into his sparkling blues and you started grinning, showing a full set of teeth. He returned the look before leaning in and another kiss surpassed as the familiar Parachute song played in your satisfied mind.

Stay with me, baby stay with me,  
Tonight don't leave me alone.  
Walk with me, come and walk with me,  
To the edge of all we've ever known.

I can see you there with the city lights,  
Fourteenth floor, pale blue eyes.  
I can breathe you in.  
Two shadows standing by the bedroom door,  
No, I could not want you more than I did right then,  
As our heads leaned in.

Well, I'm not sure what this is gonna be,  
But with my eyes closed all I see  
Is the skyline, through the window,  
The moon above you and the streets below.  
Hold my breath as you're moving in,  
Taste your lips and feel your skin.  
When the time comes, baby don't run, just kiss me slowly.

When you pulled apart again, you heard whistling and clapping coming from around you. Your eyes didn't leave Sebastian's until you heard Anthony yell "just friends my ass!" Everyone busted out laughing, including you. You nuzzled your face in Sebastian's chest to hide your embarrassment, but you continued to laugh.

"Come on guys," Sebastian finally managed to say through his laughter, "knock it off!"

When the attention seemed to graze away from the two of you, you pulled out of his chest, and looked at him smiling.

"So...."

"So." His eyes were playful.

"Sooo, I guess this means..."

"That I had no idea what I was missing and I don't think I can go back to being just friends with you and that you hopefully feel the same."

"Sounds like a perfect summary, Sparknotes." You winked at him.

"Really? You mean it? We're official...ly more than friends?" He felt the need to clarify.

"I'm up for a new adventure if you are."

He picked you up off the ground and spun you around just once. "Yes! Just to make it official" he said, stepping away a small bit so that he could look you squarely in the eye. " Will you be my steady sweetheart?"

"Honestly, nothing would make me happier."


	15. The back and forth.

The two of you walked home, skipping the car ride, wanting the night to last as long as possible. You couldn't imagine a better way to begin a new year, and while negative thoughts tried to creep into your mind, you pushed them all away and couldn't help but think of how amazing this new year could prospectively be the best yet.

When you got back to his apartment, the exhaustion of the day set in on you both as you changed into pj's.

"Seb," you called softly and sweetly from the bathroom, "can I pretty please wear your shirt to bed again??" You were in nothing but your bra and panties so you stuck your head out the door of the bathroom, concealing the rest of your body. He looked at you and smiled, grabbing a clean shirt from his drawers. When he brought it to you, you scrunched your nose at it a little bit.

"What? It's my shirt?"

You took it and brought it to your face. "Not to be weird, but it doesn't smell like you."

He smirked, his eyes pleased by your words.

"Okay, I'll try and fix it. Are you just waiting on the shirt?"

"No, I still need to clean my face and teeth."

"Go ahead and do that and I'll bring you a shirt, deal?"

"Okay," you said smiling. You shut the door. A few moments later as you finished wiping your makeup off, a soft knock came through the door.

"I'm just going to crack the door to stick the shirt through, okay?"

You walked to the door to retrieve the shirt.

"Is that better?"

You inhaled the scent, taking it in peacefully.

"Much better."

"Good. I'm going to the kitchen for some water, would you like anything?"

"No, thank you. I'll be there in a second."

Once finished, you made your way out of the room and down the hallway. Chloe looked up from her bed at the end he of the living room but didn't attempt to get up. Seb finished downing the water he had been drinking and placed the glass in the sink before looking at you.

"I'm exhausted," he confessed.

"Well, considering it's almost 4 a.m. that makes sense. At least you don't have a flight to get ready for in the morning..." the words left your mouth before you could stop them, not wanting to dampen the mood of the exhilarating evening. "Shit, I'm sorry, Seb. I didn't mean to bring that up." He dropped his eyes slowly to the floor.

"That's okay. You do know I'm not letting you go to the airport by yourself, though, right? I'll stay up as long as you would like. I'll go to sleep as soon as you'd like." He approached you slowly, arms extended, looking down at you and placing his hands on your hips. You looked to his chest, placing one hand there lightly, before looking up through your eyelashes and into his blue eyes. They were growing hazy as he looked down at you, a grin forming on his lips so that his teeth barely shown through. You stepped forward slightly so that you were in his arms completely, placing your head on his chest as an unexpected tear ran down your cheek. He pulled back a little, seeing this, but you only pulled him back to you.

"I learned a long time ago to not be sad or I will miss my moment to be happy, so I'm not going to be sad about this. I'm going to enjoy the little time I have left here, every last second."

You pulled back just enough to quickly step up and peck him on the lips. As you pulled away, his hands reached around the back of your neck and head, pulling you back into a much deeper kiss. This kiss had much more heat, much more passion attached and behind it throttling it forward. Your breath seemed to be leaving as your mind sunk into the feeling of his lips on yours and his tongue gliding back and forth against your own. Your arms reached around his neck, dropping there, as your body seemed to melt. You felt Sebastian sink, and then you felt yourself being lifted. He picked you up, bridal style, and your lips only parted long enough for you to laugh, but your lips soon found his again, arms now tightly around his neck. As he entered the bedroom, sideways, to guarantee your ankles didn't hit the doorframe, you were jolted slightly as he kicked the door shut with the back of his foot. Your weight fell slightly as he turned off the lights and the lights from the surrounding city made the room grow and shadows cast far across the room. He laid you on the bed and pulled the covers over you, his left knee leaning down so that you could be lightly placed there. You refused to let his neck go, pulling him down with you, causing you both to giggle into the kiss.

"Are we not going to sleep," he barely was able to chuckle out.

"Not right now," you replied, placing one hand on the back of his neck and one on his back, pulling him gently closer to you. He gave in, laying his body against yours, but not wanting to put his full weight on you.

For another few minutes, the two of you relished in the intimate moments you shared. When you finally took a break to breathe, you pulled him across you, to his side of the bed, causing his body to bounce on the mattress and you both to laugh softly. You rolled over to face him. You gazed into his eyes. You were going to miss that shade of blue, surrounded by those thick eyelashes. Those eyelashes, that fell down to those sharp cheekbones, in the center, that soft, yet pointed nose. That nose, which set so nicely above Seb's always impeccable and full roseate lips sitting just above a jawline that went for days, and to top it off, that one piece of hair that loved to flop onto his forehead so perfectly. Your eyes scanned each of these features, before going back to his eyes. He was watching you just as closely, examining you as well. He leaned in to allocate the softest of kisses to the tip of your nose before pulling your face into his chest.

"This is real, right? I'm not dreaming?" He whispered as he felt you smile into his chest.

"If it isn't, it's the closest thing to a dream there is."

The two of you drifted off to sleep quickly, content with each breath that took place surrounded by the other.

________

Sebastian had set his alarm, a simple vibration on his phone, one that wouldn't wake you, and it was much different than your five alarms. He watched you for a few moments, breathing deeply, snoring every few breaths. He eased his way out of your arms so not to wake you. He pulled some shirts and sweatshirts from the drawer and the closet. He sprayed them with his cologne and stuffed them in the bottom of your suitcase, hiding them under the clothing you had left in there to take home. He wanted you to have a surprise when you unpacked, something he hoped you'd appreciate. Afterward, he headed for the kitchen. He cooked breakfast, made coffee, and placed it all together on a tray. When he walked back into the bedroom, he stood in the doorway, blocking Chloe from running and jumping on the bed. He stared at you, lying in bed with his t-shirt on. He couldn't recall such a beautiful sight, even as the drivel of slobber dropped from your lip to the pillowcase, even as a good amount of your hair was pushed up on one side from sleeping against his chest, and yes, even when your arm was tucked an odd way under your body, making it seem like a demon had possessed your body. He placed the tray on the dresser and walked to your side of the bed. He sat down and placed his hand on your shoulder, and began to pull you over slowly.

"I live for you, I long for you, (y/n)," he began to sing tenderly, leaning down slowly. Your eyes, being hit by the sunlight streaming through the windows into the room, began to open lethargically, and attempted to focus in on Seb. "I've been idolizing the light in your eyes, (y/n)," he continued, but you cut him off.

"That's light from the open, non-curtained-like-an-insane-person-windows, genius," your throat gruff with sleep, but a small smile came upon your face nonetheless.

He leaned down to kiss you, but you quickly pulled a Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and jerked the sheets over your mouth, shaking your head, no, but he could see the smile growing in your eyes. He gave you a lip peck through the sheet, before one on the nose, and then the forehead.

"I brought you some breakfast and coffee if you'd like?"

"Breakfast in bed? Serenaded? With a One Direction song, at that? I'm sorry, what universe am I in?"

"Not only all of that but also by your own personal boyfriend." Air blew out of his nose as he attempted to hold in his laughter thanks to the expression on your face. As quickly as you could you changed it to mock shock.

"I'm sorry, are you saying that I've never had a boyfriend of my own and/or one I didn't share?"

His face scrunched up into a half smirk, mixed with confusion and surprise.

"Uhhh...."

You rolled your eyes and scoffed. "Good gracious, Seb, it's called a joke. How did I get such a lame boyfriend?" You lifted an eyebrow, along with the right corner of your mouth, but it wasn't long before a laugh spouted from your gut as Seb's hands reached to your ribs and began to tickle you...again.

"D-dammit-Seb-S-Seb-wh-why do- why do you- agghh-why- why do you alwa-ways-go-to-tick-t-ickling?-S-S-Seb-stop-pl-please!?"

"Take it back." He stopped to let you answer.

"...nope," you said smirking at him, and his fingers headed for your sides again.

"-Seb-ebbb-ebbbb- sto-stop-pl-"

"Take it back and I'll stop."

"Fi-fine. Fine-I-I-take-it-back."

He stopped, laughing at you, but his eyes displayed satisfaction over winning. "Good, because your breakfast is getting cold," he said as he stood from the bed and headed to the dresser to pick up the tray. He moved the coffee pot to the table before doing so, and brought the tray to you, placing it in front of you, then going back to get the coffee to pour for you.

"Please tell me some of this is yours."

"You can eat all of it if you'd like."

"No, I can't eat all of this. Some of it better be yours, Seb."

"Fine, I'll eat some. Let me go grab a mug from the cabinet and I'll be right back."

By the time he walked back through the door, you'd taken a bite of everything.

"Seb!! Since when are you such a chef?! An egg, cheese, and avocado panini? Not to mention the hash browns are amazing, and I don't know where you got the tomato and orange from, but they're so fresh...meaning extremely yummy! Thank you so much!!!"

"I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you would or not...which is why I made plenty of coffee. There's another pot in the kitchen."

You looked at him with a scrunched face before your eyes bugged a bit.

"You made two pots of coffee!?"

"Yeh, well, if nothing else, I figured you may need it for caffeine for your flight..."

You looked down at the food as your chewing slowed and reality crept back into your mind. He saw this and immediately placed his head on your shoulder.

"We're going to make this work. Okay??" You nodded, but slowly, so he leaned in, kissing your neck gingerly, just once, and once again laying his head on your shoulder as you both continued to eat in silence. When you were finished, he looked at his watch.

"I'll go get everything cleaned up if you want to finish packing. If you need any help, just holler, okay?"

"Will do."

Seb grabbed everything and headed back for the kitchen. You took a deep breath before getting out from under the covers slowly, your body fighting against your mind screaming at you to crawl back in the bed and never leave. However, you grabbed your things from the bathroom first before gathering up your other pieces of clothing. As you walked back and forth, you heard the clatter of Seb cleaning in the kitchen and tears silently slid down your cheeks. It didn't take too long to pack, so you made the bed and then sat on the end and placed your head in your hands, attempting to hold yourself together until you and Seb parted. You heard Chloe approaching and knew Seb wouldn't be far behind. Chloe sat on the floor in front of you looking up expectantly, so you scooted down the edge of the bed, sitting Indian style so that Chloe could crawl into your lap. She did and leaned her head against your chest as you caressed her back. You smiled down at her, and she seemed to smile back up at you. Seb stopped in the door frame, taking in the view he had walked in upon. His motion made it's way to your peripheral vision and you looked to your right at him, noting the contented smile on his face. He approached you leisurely before dropping to the floor beside you, the foot of the bed propping you both up. You laid your head on his shoulder, wanting to relish in the moment as long as possible. After a few moments, you took a deep breath, releasing a sigh on your exhale and made to get up.

"I guess we better get a move on." Chloe and Seb followed suit, standing up after you. You began putting your coat and gloves on while Sebastian grabbed your suitcase and headed for the living room to retrieve his coat and some coffee for you. You followed him, turning to look at the room you had shared for a short time, trying to recall every second and tuck it away in your heart and mind to return to them whenever you wished. When you reached the living room, he handed you a cup of coffee to go and grabbed the keys to his apartment. The car was waiting downstairs and the two of you climbed in after Seb put your bag in the trunk.

You parted much like you had the previous week before. A quiet ride, quiet airport arrival, and promises to let Seb know when you got back to NC.

"I hope you have a great week at work. I'll see you soon, okay?" You nodded and attempted to give him a smile. He took you in his strong arms, holding you firmly but gently. You snuck a quick kiss before turning and heading for the terminal that led to your way home.

\-------

The weeks passed slowly, but Seb called or text you every single day. Every morning you woke up to the same text.

Good morning, beautiful! I miss you so much. Have a great day! I'll talk to you later...and I'll see you in ____ days!

Seb would begin filming for the next Avengers movie at the end of January in Atlanta so he had planned to stop in NC to spend a few days with you.

During filming, every day that he had off, he made his way back up to NC to see you. Luckily, he was filming for six months, so you were able to see each other every two to three weeks. Your relationship bloomed with this time and the two of you fell harder for each other with every visit that happened. By the time that filming ended school had ended as well. Sebastian had other jobs lined up which were lined up fairly quickly after Avengers shooting ended, but he had a couple of weeks off to recoup. You went to New York for those two weeks, him stopping to pick you up, so to speak, after heading out of ATL.

Those two weeks were great and they spoiled the both of you. You didn't spend a moment apart, even going to the gym with Seb. Normally, you'd like your alone time, but with the dynamics of your long distance relationship, you didn't want to lose a moment of his presence.

At the end of the two weeks, he boarded a flight for LA and you headed back to NC. In a few weeks, you were going to head to LA to hang out with him for about a week. After spending the week around set, making friends with those on set, it was mentioned that you should stick around for a little while longer by other members of the cast and crew. You didn't have to work, or any reason to be back in NC, so you stayed two more weeks before heading back to gear up for another school year.

The school year started as normal. You missed Sebastian but were so busy getting back into the routine that your mind and heart handled it well. You still spoke every day, but you didn't get a chance to see each other.

On the first of October, your favorite month of the year, you received a hand-written letter from Sebastian in the mail. When you got the letter, something made you check your mail on that Sunday, you were so surprised that as soon as you parked your car, you didn't get out, you ripped the envelope open and began to read hungrily:

Hello, my love,

HAPPY OCTOBER...I really hope I timed this perfectly so that this arrives on October 1...if it doesn't, please forgive me. I also hope you're pleasantly surprised by this. I remember you saying how much it means when someone takes the time to write something to someone when we were watching The Notebook that time. I hope you're well. I'm sure we've talked a little bit today, but I didn't mention the letter because a) I wanted it to be a surprise and b) I also wanted to write down what I'm going to ask you instead of getting your immediate reaction. I don't know how you'll react...so I wanted to be able to give you time so you don't have to worry about masking any emotions. To make it short and sweet, and in order not to torture you, although knowing you, you'd probably just skim to the question and go back reading what I actually have to say before that later. Am I right?

You giggled, tears forming at his memory of the discussion you two had had and the fact that he knew you well enough to know exactly what you'd do.

Yeh, that's what I thought. Anyways, on to the question right? ....hey the weather has...haha!! I'm playing. I miss torturing you and seeing you get frustrated. Okay, I really will stop stalling now. Long story short,

I was wondering if you'd like to spend part of your Thanksgiving with my family and me? I want you to be able to spend time with yours as well. I was speaking with my mom the other day and she asked if you would be joining us this year. I think she misses you and would really like for you to come, but don't feel like you have to, okay? I, of course, want you to come as well, but if you don't want to, I completely understand. You can let me know whenever you're ready, no rush whatsoever, I wanted to give you plenty of time to think about it. Also, I won't ask about the letter, so whenever you're ready to discuss it, that's fine by me.

I'll talk with you soon...just to talk, though, I promise. I miss you so much.

All my love,  
Sebastian

You didn't even have to think. You immediately called Sebastian, knowing it would go to voicemail, but you left your message there.

"SEBASTIAN! YES! YES! YES!! I'd love to spend Thanksgiving with you and your family!!!" You couldn't help but squeal with joy. "I can't believe this! I'm so excited! Please thank your mother for thinking of me! Tell her I'd be delighted! Oh my gosh! I can't believe this!!" His voicemail cut you off, so you hit the button to continue the voicemail. "Okay, apparently I'm leaving too long of a message cause it just cut me off, but yes, definitely yes! I miss you so much! Call me when you get a chance, even if you think I'm in bed. I want to talk to you!"

You spoke the following day, making arrangements for your Thanksgiving trip. After a few grueling weeks, you viewed the inside of the familiar cabin of the plane taking you back to your favorite human on the planet.


	16. The reuniting.

It was the day after Thanksgiving and you were making your way back to New York. Sebastian met you at JFK, quickly grabbing your bags as soon as you came within his reach and practically dragged you to the cab.

"Hello to you, too," you giggled as you leaned into his strong embrace, before giving him a quick peck on the lips. He pulled you back in, though, not allowing just a peck. You smiled into his lips before you felt him returning one.

"Hello, by the way," he placed his forehead against your own, staring into your eyes. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you, too." As the car made its way to Sebastian's apartment, the two of you discussed any plans that could be made...but the only plan that seemed to make the most sense was to lay on his couch and binge watch tv cuddled together.

"You've never watched '30 Rock'!?" You exclaimed as he sat the take-away Chinese on the coffee table, before heading back to grab beverages.

"No, but I have a feeling I'm about to watch it on repeat..."

"Yes, yes you are," you grinned up at him as he made his way back to you. "....Seb, what are you hiding behind you back?"

"Nothing."

"You're such a liar! What are you hiding?"

"I just have our beverages..."

"Okay....so you want me to become dehydrated?"

He chuckled, "no, of course not. I got some special drinks in preparation for your visit."

"Seb, I'm only here for a couple of days, literally. You didn't have to do that....but what did you get??" You attempted to be serious, but excitement took over instead. There really wasn't any reason for him to have to do that, but the thought of him doing something so simple, yet considerate, made you happy.

"Well, I have two different options for you, because I know you love them equally. I hav-"

"Dr. Pepper and Cheerwine?! You got my two favorite sodas! ...Why am I getting so excited about this?!" My voice began to squeak, but he just laughed with you, presenting you with the beverages.

"How are you so wonderful? How did this happen? How am I so lucky?"

"So many questions. Can we just watch this treinta... formed sediment show?"

"Babe....that was probably the...lamest thing I've ever heard you utter...and that includes 'I'm gonna make you my weeotch,' so you know that's saying something."

"You're never going to let that die are you?"

"No, no I'm not," you leaned over, placing a quick kiss on the nose. "Now! '30 Rock'!!" You grabbed the remote and pressed play.

After a couple of episodes, you moved to clean everything up, putting the leftovers in the fridge and putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher as Seb continued to watch. You heard him laughing...finally...he had been pretty silent, while you had busted out laughing at every turn and humorous line of the show. You had tried to reassure him that it took some time to get into it, but his silence had been discouraging and disappointing. The fact that he didn't seem to find the show funny was really putting a damper on your mood. You stepped back to the living room where you could see Seb better.

"Was that a laugh I just heard??"

"I give up. It is funny. I was trying to prove you wrong."

"Why would you do that? That's so rude."

"Well, it was more of the fact that I was enjoying you looking at me every few seconds, looking for my reaction."

You rolled your eyes and walked back to the couch, plopping down and grabbing the blanket to lay across yourself.

After a few more episodes, you noticed Seb leaning his head against the back of the couch. His eyes were drooping slightly so you leaned and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him toward you, surprising him, while making him laugh simultaneously.

"Wha-what are you doing?"

"Come herrreeee," you whined. You stretched your legs out and placed a pillow in your lap for him to lay his head on. "I literally just watched your eyes droop. We'll put something else on because I don't want you to miss out on the storyline of '30 Rock'. "

He obeyed, lying down, as you grabbed a second blanket and threw it over him. After getting through an episode of "The Munsters," you looked down to see Sebastian snoozing peacefully. The clock revealed that it was 7:30, and in your world, that was definitely not too early for bed. You watched him, content, for a few minutes before you began to run your fingers through his quiff, scratching his head lightly as you did so. You wished this is how life could be every day. You could be completely content vegging out on the couch with Sebastian, watching tv or movies until he fell asleep in your lap. Of course, this couldn't happen. Not only did you have your job, whether you liked it or not, and Seb had his job which obviously kept him on the move more than it gave him free time.

His eyes fluttered open, thick eyelashes causing your train of thought to pull out of the station as quick as the take off of the Flight of Fear coaster and you froze.

"Why did you stop?" He whined, causing you to snicker softly. "C'mon, let's go to bed."

"No, it's fine. I'm awake."

"Yeh, at the moment, silly goose. Come on." You began to move, pushing him up off of you.He stood and you followed suit, guiding him to the bedroom as he was still half asleep.

"But you aren't ready for bed." He tried to turn around and stop.

"Sebastian, if you don't get your...come on, I'm going to bed too, I'm ready for to sleep myself....if you don't quit stopping...Seb, I'm going to push you into this bed if you don't hurry up." He laid down and you tucked him in like a child. "Thank you. That took long enough. I'm going to go shut everything down and I'll be right back."

"But I can hel-"

"Go to sleep before I knock you out," you said, walking out of the bedroom door and back to the living room.

After you got everything settled, you reentered the room to find Seb asleep once again. You turned on Jersey Boys and tried to, as gently as you could, climb into bed beside Seb so as not to wake him. It wasn't long before you felt him roll over, wrapping his right arm around your torso, and pulling you closer to him.

"Thank you, (y/n). This has been the best day I've had in months."

You smiled before answering "me too," and you both fell into the best night's sleep either of you had gotten in months.

The next morning, the two woke up early but cuddled until you finally got up around 11 to head upstate to Sebastian's parent's home. You made some toast and coffee for the two of you as Sebastian finished up the casserole side dish he had made for the afternoon meal. When the elevator arrived at the garage, Seb yawned as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Hey," you bumped your shoulder into his arm, "do you want me to drive?"

"No, I can."

"Sure you're not too tired?"

"I'm good," he said, not being able to contain another yarn. "I'm good, I swear. If I get too tired, I'll let you know and we'll switch, deal?"

"If you're sure," you replied opening the back seat door for him to play the casserole and the bags.

Once you hopped in the rover, you immediately plugged up your iPod.

"I thought the driver got to choose the tunes?"

"Yeh well....unless I'm the passenger." You winked at him and laughed when he rolled his eyes.

You let your iPod shuffle until you exited the city and then a song came to your mind. You immediately scrolled through your collection and hit play.

Bright just like the stars above me  
Proud just like my mother planned it  
Short on all the things I don't want  
I'm full of love and longing

You began to sing along with the words of the chorus.

"Take me by the hand and tell me  
You would take me anywhere..."

As the song reached the second verse, Sebastian looked over to you and reached for your hand, taking it in his as the song continued.

Still, cause I don't want to move a thing  
In hopes that you'll fit right into me  
And all the things I don't want they're full  
Of love and longing

When the chorus came around, he began to sing it, causing you to shoot a surprised grin his way and started to sing the harmony. Once the bridge came through, both of you fell back int silence.

And it goes, it's like a come on come on to me  
And it goes it's like a come on come on to me  
You, you say you don't see any part of me  
To love in all this mess and I know

Considering the exactitude of the last line of the song, you couldn't resist singing it in Seb's direction.

You take the good and all the bad that comes with me.

The two of you continued your journey, you entertaining Seb with your breakout karaoke and him joining in with you. You waned to make sure he wasn't tempted to fall asleep.

"Here, let me see," he said, gesturing to the iPod. He quickly found the song he was looking for. "In honor of us only having about an hour left..."

The familiar notes sunk into your bones. "You're such a goofball!! I should have known it was going to be an 80's song." As soon as the verse started, you both belted out the words.

Tommy used to work on the docks  
Union's been on strike  
He's down on his luck...  
It's tough, so tough

You both laughed at your attempts to reach the low note. The two of you practically screamed the "oh we're halfway there" in the chorus before cracking up. After the song was finished, you couldn't help but ask:

"So I take it you're awake now?"

He chuckled, running his hand over his face, "yeh, I guess I am."

"Good," you smiled and returned your attention to the road as you put your iPod on shuffle once again.

"Thank you for this..." Sebastian practically whispered so that you were hardly able to hear him over the music.

You looked back at him, smiling. "For what?"

"For coming. For being willing to travel and visit on your short break. For agreeing to spend time with my family...and not because you feel obligated, but because you want to. For being considerate of both my feelings and those of my family. For being amazing in every single way imaginable and making me the happiest man in the world, happier than I've ever even thought I could be."

Tears formed in your eyes and to avoid Seb seeing them, you looked out of the passenger window. You were just able to choke out:

"You're welcome, Seb."

The rest of the ride was spent in mostly silence, although you caught yourself, and Sebastian, humming along with some songs here and there. When you arrived at his parent's, as soon as he parked the vehicle, you unbuckled your seatbelt and leaned quickly over giving him a peck on the cheek, and as you pulled away, he grabbed your chin quickly and pulled you back, placing your face so close to his, it was tormenting.

"You missed," he said, voice flirtatious. His warm breath grazed your lips.

"Are you gonna kiss me or just be a tease?"

He couldn't hold back his laugh, his breath caressing your face that you took in happily until his forehead bumped yours as he had dropped his head to laugh.

"Oww," you leaned back, rubbing the spot.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I just was surprised. What you said was funny."

"Yeh, well apparently it ruined the moment."

"Nonsense," he said quickly, before placing his lips on yours. You could taste the mint from his Burt's Bees as his lips grazed your own. He took you gingerly by the chin, angling your head to the left, his nose pressing yours in the process, then turning it in the opposite direction, bumping your nose with his again. He then bit, ever so gently, onto your lower lip, sucking on it just for the shortest second.


	17. The visit.

"Seb," you breathed into his mouth. He pulled away slowly, knowing you were asking him to stop.

"I get it, not here. Sorry...I got a little carried away."

You pulled his face back to yours, placing your foreheads together, "it's okay, I understand." You gave him another peck on the lips, before grinning and turning away to get out of the vehicle.

You grabbed the casserole out of the back. Seb circled the vehicle, shutting the door for you. As you approached the door, he took your free hand, intertwining your fingers before grabbing the door and opening it so you could enter the house first.

Mrs. Fruhauf met you at the door, taking the casserole and placing it on the counter quickly.

"(Y/n), my dear! How are you?" She said as she grabbed your arms and pulled you into a hug. "It's been way too long, but I'm so glad you were able to come visit with us!" She pulled out of the hug and you caught just the hint of her lavender and tea rose perfume. You committed it to memory.

"I'm well! I'm so happy to be here! It really has been too long!" You replied as she stared at you, smiling, for just a second longer than needed, before she turned to Sebastian and you walked further into the kitchen where Sebastian's dad was.

"Anthony! That's still odd, are you sure I can't call you Mr. Fruhauf?" You began to laugh as you gave him a hug.

"Sweetie, please don't. I have to listen to it all day, but you understand that."

"Yes, that I do. How have you been?" You asked as he released you from the hug.

"I've been doing well. Things have been busy..." he continued speaking and while you attempted to keep your focus on what he was saying, you couldn't help but notice the whispering that was passing between Sebastian and his mother a couple of feet behind you.

"She's truly happy to be here, isn't she? She's my favorite, baby, my absolute favorite. I think you found her."

"I'm glad Mama, I am."

"Oh, how forward would it be to ask her to call me Mom?"

"A little, yeh?"

"Oh fine, at least Georgeta. At some point, she'll refer to me as Mom, though, right?"

You heard Sebastian chuckle nervously. He must have sensed or questioned you listening because he switched from English to Romanian to continue the private conversation.

Anthony soon finished his story about an event that had occurred at the school the previous week.

"Oh Ant, I'm sure (y/n) has enough stories without you adding to them," she said waving him away despite your laughter.

"Mrs. Fruhauf, I do, but I don't mind stories at all."

"Dear, please I think you can call me Georgeta by now. Especially if you're referring to Anthony by his first name, I don't want to be left out." She smiled sweetly at you. "Even if it feels odd. Hopefully, you'll stick around long enough it'll no longer be awkward." She said this before quietly adding "you'll just have to come visit more often so that'll it'll become more habitual."

You snickered and nodded nervously. "Is there something I can do to help?"

"No ma'am! You go relax, my baby boy, on the other hand, has some work to do. However, I heard you are in the search for vinyl?"

"Yes ma'am," you smiled before glancing at Sebastian, eyes gleaming with fondness, "I am, or I have been. I guess you could say I always am when I have the time."

"Great! Well, Anthony has quite the collection."

"Really?! Would it be too much to ask to explore?" You turned quickly to Anthony and asked this excitedly, a toothy smile spread across your face.

"Yes, dear, of course! Follow me. Holler if you need us, Georgeta." The two of you left Sebastian and his mother in the kitchen to cook and surely continue their little chat.

Anthony led the way upstairs to what must be their entertainment room. You found it to be much like your great uncle and aunt's entertainment room, which was more like a loft than a room. It was full of different gadgets and devices. They had a decent size television in the room with two small Bose speakers surrounding the entertainment center. On the back wall, you saw a sleek, black baby grand piano which appeared to have a shimmering midnight blue trim around the edges of each surface. You hadn't ever seen one like it, not that you had had the opportunity to view many pianos up close anyway. It was stunning. Not only was it clearly well-taken care of -not a speck of dust lay upon it- but the shimmering midnight blue gave it almost its own aura. It seemed to bring you to a stand still and toss you into deep, peaceful thought. Anthony caught you admiring it.

"Do you play?"

"Uhh, sorry. It's just....remarkable. Sadly, no, I can't play anything. I wish I could. I'd love to learn a few instruments. I tried to teach myself guitar once...it didn't turn out so well," you laughed and he chuckled with you.

"What instruments?"

"Well, if I think about it, mostly stringed, but not completely. I love Bluegrass music, so I've wanted to learn the banjo. I'd also like to learn the mandolin, guitar, and fiddle. My great uncle is actually an awesome fiddle player. He plays, or used to, with many different bluegrass groups back home. I'd also like to learn the cello and violin...and even the ukelele. Granted, with the lack of knowledge I have of the actual playing of the instruments, it could very well be that once you learn one of those, you can pick up some of the others easily. Outside of stringed instruments, I actually would love to know how to play the piano. I'd also like to learn how to play...use...I don't even know the correct terminology...a synth. Hmmm, I wouldn't mind learning the drums, including bongo drums!" Your eyes widened and lit up, which only made Anthony crow.

"Bongo drums seem like a good choice. Anything else on your short list," he gently teased.

"Hmmm, oh! What's that thing called...the kazoo? ....no, ahh, ooh! The harmonica!! Also, while I love a smooth jazz trumpet and saxophone, I think I'd prefer to enjoy listening to them than playing them...so I suppose that's it. My short list." You couldn't help but guffaw at how that could have been such a short and simple answer, but you, of course, had to make it complicated and long.

"Well, I'm not sure about the rest of the instruments...considering there are so few," he rolled his eyes slightly and grinned, "but I'm sure if you choose to stick around Georgeta would love to teach you, no matter what the amount of piano you would like to learn."

"You think so? I really would love to learn, even if it's just being able to pick out notes to help me figure out harmonies when singing."

"You sing?"

"A little, yes sir."

"Georgeta is going to love to learn that. I often tell people that's why she married me, because of my singing voice."

"You sing? I want to hear!"

"Maybe so. Let's go find a good vinyl to sing along with and we can both sing. How about that?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

As the two of you browsed, you found one of your favorite musicals. You began to pull the cover out as you made a small gasp. The gasp brought Anthony's eyes to you and what album you had pulled.

"A New York classic."

"Can we, please? I love it!"

"Sure thing. How well do you know it? If you know it well enough, we'll start on side 2."

"I know it all by heart, we can start wherever you'd like."

He smiled and flipped over the record, putting the needle onto the vinyl. The first few notes hit your ears like lightning hitting a dead tree in the middle of an open field. You began singing alongside Wilson Jermaine Heredia.

Live in my house, I'll be your shelter  
Just pay me back  
With one thousand kisses  
Be my lover, I'll cover you

By the end of your section, Anthony joined apace with Jesse Martin.

Open your door, I'll be your tenant  
Don't got much baggage, to lay at your feet  
But sweet kisses, I've got to spare  
I'll be there and I'll cover you

 

You continued together.

 

I think they meant it  
When they said you can't buy love  
Now I know you can rent it  
A new lease you are my love  
On life, be my life

Just slip me on, I'll be your blanket  
Wherever, whatever I'll be your coat

You heard footsteps coming up the stairs as you sang. When you turned, you saw Sebastian walking up the stairs with his mother. They both were smiling from ear to ear at you and Anthony. You became shy immediately and stopped singing, Anthony continued, nudging you to continue with him. You rejoined him, quieter than originally, at the bridge, staring at Sebastian all the while.

You'll be my king, and I'll be your castle  
No, you be my queen, and I'll be your moat

I think they meant it  
When they said you can't buy love  
Now I know you can rent it  
A new lease you are my love  
On life, oh my life

I've longed to discover  
Something as true as this is  
So with a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you  
(If you're cold and you're lonely)  
With a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you  
(You've got one nickel only)

You brought your attention back to Anthony, avoiding staring at Sebastian and making it so very obvious, in the face of his parents, the depth of your feelings for their son.

With a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you  
(When you're worn out and tired)  
With a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you  
(When your heart has expired)

Oh lover, I'll cover you, yeah  
Oh, lover, I'll cover you

Georgeta and Sebastian started applauding, Seb showing his toothy TJ Hammond grin that you loved so much. It melted your heart every single time.

"Sebastian, you never told me (y/n) could sing!" She turned back to you. "You have a beautiful voice. I'm so glad I got to hear it. Next, you and Sebastian should sing together. He has a wonderful voice as well, in case you didn't know."

"Oh, but no love for me. I know you married me for my voice, but now it's like you don't even know who I am at all," Anthony directed this joking jab at Georgeta causing her to laugh and walk to Anthony, giving his waist a squeeze and a peck on the cheek.

"Come on, hun, I need you to help me with something in the kitchen." She gave him a wink. You looked down, feeling as if you were invading in upon an intimate moment.

After his parents were far enough down the stairs, where they couldn't see, Sebastian slinked over to you, hands and arms snaking around your hips.

"You've got to stop it with that TJ smile. You know how weak it makes me."

"Oh, I know." He wiggled his eyebrows before chuckling into your hair as he pulled you into his chest.

"In case you didn't already know, my mother is completely infatuated with you, and you just nailed the coffin shut after revealing that you can sing."

"I don't see why it's such a big deal," you said, pulling away to walk over and examine vinyl collection, putting a small bit of distance between the two of you, "and I don't think she's 'completely infatuated' with me. Don't you think you're overselling it?"

"No, I'm not. I talk with my mother more than you do and trust me, the majority of our conversations now revolve around you, and they begin from her end."

"Are you telling me your mothers loves me more....." You clammed up quickly at the realization that you had just dropped the 'L' word. While there had been mention of love, neither of you had directly said 'I love you' to the other, and you didn't want to put either of you in an awkward position.

"Than me? Nope, not possible. They both really do adore you, though." He closed the distance, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind. You looked down, smiling, before turning your head to the right so that you could see him in your peripheral vision, biting the left part of your bottom lip to keep yourself from smiling from ear to ear. You saw him grin back, lick his lips, knowing you could see him, and knowing how much you adored it. He ambushed you, giving your lips a quick peck with his own.

"Sebs! (Y/n)! Food is ready if you guys are," Anthony called up the stairs.

"Please, please tell me there's some more of that Romanian sweet bread on the menu??"

"Yes, actually."

"YAAAASSSS!" This made Sebastian laugh loudly enough that it seemed to echo off of the walls. "Let's go! I'm so hungry now!" You grabbed his hand and dragged him across the room and down the stairs.

Throughout the meal, there was small talk across the table, Sebastian kept his hand on your thigh for the entirety of the meal, squeezing your knee reassuringly every now and then when you were discussing different subjects that made you a little nervous with his parents. After dinner, you insisted on helping Georgeta in cleaning up, but Anthony wouldn't hear it, instead insisting that you and Sebastian should relax.

"Hey, question." Anthony stopped the two of you. "If you'd like, it may seem somewhat elementary, but Sebastian mentioned how much you like to sit by a fire, (y/n), so we fixed up the fire pit and bought supplies for smores if you're interested."

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, simultaneously with the corners of your mouth. "Really?! That'd be awesome."

"Wonderful. We'll finish cleaning up in here. Sebastian, if you'll get the fire going, we'll bring the supplies out shortly."

"Come on," Sebastian guided you to the door, grabbing your coat and holding it open for you to put on. He grabbed your scarf and wrapped it around your neck, pulling you just slightly closer to him. Knowing you were within viewing distance of his parents you placed your fingertips on his stomach to keep distance between you and shook your head marginally so that only he would be able to catch it. He gave you a quick nod and grabbed his coat and scarf, and followed you out the door. You picked a chair on the patio and watched Sebastian get the fire started. You checked your phone, having missed a few texts from earlier that day and replied. Once he was finished, he grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to yours before sitting. You put your phone down and looked to the fire, pretending not to pay him any attention. He hated when you purposefully didn't pay him attention when he was so obviously seeking it...and you loved the feeling of control it gave you...even if it was difficult...he was just so damned cute. He took the piece of hair on the side of your face that faced him and swept it behind your ear. You continued to look at the fire, fighting not to show any recognition that he was beside you. He scooted his chair an inch or so closer to yours, but you maintained your eyes on the fire. You reached to scratch the opposite side of your neck so that you could face away and crack a smile that he wouldn't see. You pretended to roll your neck in a stretch. You placed your arms on the arms of the chair to relax. You noticed he was moving to place his hand on yours so you moved it just in time and chose that moment to run your hands through your hair. You heard him huff in frustration and annoyance, so you stood up and stepped away from the chair and fire somewhat. You turned away from Sebastian and flipped your head over to pull your hair up into a bun. You heard him attempt to control a yelp, which made it almost impossible for you to not bust out laughing. Instead, you quickly stood up and continued to face the yard as you put your hair up. Once finished, you quickly wiped the grin off of your face and returned to your seat, still ignoring him. Finally, he pulled out the card to trump your act. He leaned over so close, that he was breathing into your neck, tickling your throat with just his breath as he whispered:

"You know you drive me absolutely crazy when you do this."

You attempted to remain calm, but your neck was so ticklish, you couldn't help but giggle and drop your head sideways quickly, involuntarily knocking into Sebastian's eye hard with your chin, causing him to jerk away quickly, his hand shooting to his eye socket.

"Oh my gosh, Seb, I'm so sorry!" You practically jumped out of your chair and knelt in front of him as he was bent over with his elbows on his knees and head practically in his lap. "Seb, are you okay? I'm so so so sorry. I couldn't help it! I didn't mean to, it was involuntary. You should know better. Shit, I'm so sorry. Let me see." You took his hands, gently pulling them away from his face. He fought you on it, though, holding his hands in place. "Seb, come on, let me see." He shook his head. "Dammit, Sebastian, let me take a look at it." You wrapped your fingers gently, but firmly, around his wrists and delicately pulled his hands away from his face and to his lap.

He began to blink rapidly, a few tears dropping down his cheek, avoiding your gaze at first. You wiped the tears away gently. He finally looked at you as you began to study his right eye by placing the edge of your hands around it by putting the slightest bit of pressure around it, causing him to wince. "I'm guessing it's going to bruise a bit. Seb, I'm so sorry. You dropped your hands a margin, so that they laid across his cheeks, holding his face tenderly in your hands. He stared at you intently, eyes softening as the light of the fire flickered in their reflection. He cupped his hand around yours before turning to kiss your palm, causing you to lean your head to the side to admire his gentle spirit. He slowly moved the kisses to your wrist and up your arm. Before he could reach the inside of your elbow, you moved closer and used your other hand to wrap around the back of his neck and pulled his face to yours. You felt him smile into the kiss, compelling you to smile in return. You heard the door to the patio open and you jerked away, turned quickly around and pretended to be sitting in front of Seb's chair to watch the fire. He bent down to whisper in your ear.

"I think they know we kiss."

"Shhh."

You heard him chuckle as he leaned back into the chair.

"(Y/n), you don't have to sit on the porch, we have extra chairs," Georgeta said.

"Oh, that's okay, I'm fine! Please, sit. Can I help you with something," you said, stirring in an attempt to stand.

"No, stay where you are, we have everything," Anthony spoke up.

You plopped back down as they handed you a skewer and opened the bag of marshmallows. They passed them over to you. You took Seb's skewer and put a marshmallow on it for him, before fixing yours. You handed the bag back to his parents. You felt him shift forward.

"Whatever you do, please don't stab me."

In response, he placed his arm on your head, jokingly, and placed his marshmallow over the flames. You rolled your eyes and huffed, causing everyone, including yourself, to laugh.

He shifted his roasting hand to your shoulder, scooting forward so that his legs were straddling your body and his arms straddling your neck, leaning his head onto yours, placing a kiss to the crown of your head and then just laying his chin there, comfortingly. You finally just accepted it and roasted your marshmallow. Sebastian's marshmallow was ready first so he fixed a smore and handed it to you, taking the skewer you had in hand.

"Seb, it's okay, this one's almost done."

"Just take the smore, woman."

"Sebastian!" His mother exclaimed at him, ashamed, but you laughed.

"It's okay Georgeta, I'm used to it."

"You better not be, I raised him much better than that."

"You really did, Georgeta. He's only teasing. He listened to what you taught him." You turned around, winking at him.

She nodded in response. After everyone had had a few smores each, you involuntarily shivered. Sebastian saw this and put his skewer down and rubbed your arms, creating heat.

"It is getting a little chilly with the fire dying down," Georgeta said, wrapping her shawl closer around her. "Anthony, Sebastian, would you mind putting the fire out while (y/n) and I take the smore supplies in?"

"Of course not, Mama." He helped you up and began gathering things and handing them to you.

You followed Georgeta inside, shivering again as the heat inside the house hit your skin.

"Sebastian will probably hate that I'm about to say this, and I promise I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable or force anything upon you, but...I truly have never seen him happier or more content in life than he is with you. His anxiety level has gone down. He has become more open. He's always been a wonderful and loving son, but the man he has become over the last 10 months...he's an even better man than I could have predicted. I realize that sounds cliche, but it is anything but. He loves you very much...we all do, and honestly...I really hope you become part of the family one day...officially part of it. We already consider you part of the family. I really hope you can join us again for the holidays."

You began to blush, not sure what to say. Not only had she invited you back, which wasn't that surprising, but she told you Sebastian loved you and that they wanted you to be a part of the family...that they wanted you and Sebastian to be permanent. It was a lot to take in, and part of you regretted that you didn't get the opportunity to respond before Sebastian and Anthony walked in. He didn't miss the redness of your face and the slight glassiness of your eyes. Thankfully, you could blame it on the fire.

"You okay," he whispered.

"Just from the fire," you waved off his worry.

"You getting about ready to go? It's going to be late when we get back."

"It doesn't matter to me. I'm ready whenever you are." He nodded at your answer and turned back to his parents, snaking his arm around your waist in the process.

"Well, I guess we better be heading on back. It'll be late by the time we get back."

"You do know you're more than welcome to stay here."

"Oh, Georgeta, they want to go home. It's okay. They know they're welcome here anytime." Anthony placed his arm around her shoulders, trying to keep her from attempting to force the two of you to stay the night. Georgeta sighed in defeat.

"Okay, okay....Hopefully, we'll see you at Christmas, (y/n)?"

"Mom,"

"I hope so," you cut him off, smiling first at her before side eyeing him, noticing his jaw drop just enough for it to be noticeable.

"Good," she grabbed your hand in both of hers, "I'm so happy to hear that." She patted your hand before letting it drop. You gave her a tight hug, whispering a quick 'thank you' to her, and then heading to Anthony so that Seb could have a private moment with his mother. You hugged Anthony as well, bidding him goodbye. Seb was still speaking quietly with his mother so you grabbed the keys and went to crank the vehicle to let it warm up. You plugged in your iPod and put on your Fall Drives playlist. Sebastian saw you in the driver's seat, you rolled down the window to explain, "you need to nap, I'll drive home."

When Sebastian got in the vehicle, he grabbed your free hand, leaned his seat back, and fell asleep almost instantly. You turned the music down and listened to his gentle snores for the remainder of the drive, wishing that this could be the ending of every night of the rest of your life.


	18. The Savage Garden.

When you pulled into the parking deck and parked the vehicle, you gently shook Sebastian after staring at his restful face for a moment.

"Sebastian...Seb...we're back."

He barely acknowledged your words, but lifted his eyelids slightly so that his icy blues were revealed under fluttering eyelashes, and closed his eyes again, making you chuckle.

"C'mom, silly goose. Let's go upstairs."

His response was silly, keeping his eyes shut and turning his face away from you. You grabbed your things and got out of the vehicle and went to his side. When you opened the door, you leaned across him, unbuckling his seatbelt and then placing your cold hands behind his neck. His eyes opened in reaction the chill.

"Babe, c'mon, I know you know I'm strong, but I can't carry you upstairs."

He looked at you, one eyebrow raised, gazing at you pretending to be offended by your words. However, he made no motion to move, so you went to your last resort. You leaned slowly in near his face, then turned your head slightly so you could whisper in his ear. Placing a gentle hand on his thigh, you whispered:

"You can sleep in the vehicle, orrrr you could come on upstairs and we could continue what we were in the middle of earlier this afternoon."

He almost pushed you out of the way, causing you not to be able to contain your laughter.

"You are such a child!"

He didn't respond, just grabbed your hand and practically yanked you to the elevator doors.

Once you were safely inside and the elevator began to move, he turned to face you and pulled you close. Gingerly, he placed his lips to yours, and before you knew it, your hands were running up the back of his neck and to his hair hungrily, he began to walk you backward towards the elevator wall, but the elevator stopped at the apartment first. He groaned into your mouth at the interruption. He practically ran, dragging you behind him to the door and unlocked it. As soon as you were inside and the door was closed behind you, you grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him back into the kiss. He pushed the two of you into the wall behind the door. You felt him lean down, placing his hands just below your butt, picking you up and running you just higher than him up the wall. You wrapped your legs around his waist automatically as his lips caressed your neck.

The moment was interrupted by your giggling. He paused.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Keep going."

He pressed his lips to your collarbone, moving slowly across your chest to the other side of your neck. You couldn't contain another set of giggles. You heard him huff lightly and place his forehead to your collarbone, in frustration.

"Seeba! I'm sorry. It tickles. I'm sorry I laughed." You twisted your fingers in his hair and tugged gently so that he'd look up at you. Once his face once close enough to yours you set a peck on the tip of his nose.

"I'm sorry I ruined it."

"You didn't ruin it. You didn't ruin anything," he replied, his voice deepening with the final bit. You felt him grasp you tighter and closer to his own body and began to carry you toward the bedroom.

\----------

The following morning, you awoke to a cold spot next to you. It was clear Seb hadn't been in bed for a while. Typically you woke up if he moved, but you must have been so exhausted you hadn't noticed. You listened intently for any sound, but you were met with only silence. He must have gone out, possibly taking Chloe with him as you didn't see her at the foot of the bed. You stretched and figured you wouldn't be able to sleep much longer anyway so you got up and headed for the shower. The scalding water loosened the tight muscles in your body so you remained in the shower longer than planned. Once finished, you wrapped a towel around yourself and stepped out. You heard noise in the apartment that didn't belong to you.

"Sebs? Is that you?" You called. He stuck his head in the door, eyes shut tight so that his face scrunched.

"Yeh, it's me. Are you proper so that I can open my eyes?"

You couldn't help but roll your eyes and chuckle.

"Yes, silly goose. I'm 'proper' as you say...well, proper enough."

He opened one eye and grinned at you before opening them both, full set of pearly whites about blinding you.

"Just checking," he said before winking at you. "Chloe and I went out and got some breakfast and espressos. I needed some extra energy after last night."

This comment caused you to scoff a little, his childishness would always sneak up on you in a rush. You couldn't help the blood rushing to your face though.

"Oh hush." You turned away from him, but he could see your face in the mirror, knowing exactly how scarlet it was.

"I'll set everything out in the kitchen."

"Okay. Thank you." You said this, avoiding his stare, and beginning to brush through your hair. He stood there a moment longer, of which your body seemed well aware of before he finally closed the door and you heard Chloe following him out of the room and down the hall.

After throwing on a tank and a stolen pair of Seb's sweatpants, choosing to let your hair air dry, and making your way to the kitchen, you sat down beside Sebastian at the kitchen island.

"Good morning, by the way," he said softly, leaning over and placing a light kiss on your bare shoulder.

"Good morning to you, too. Thank you again for breakfast."

"Of course, my love."

\-------

After breakfast and a suggestion from Sebastian to walk around the park, you found yourself outside, bundled up and holding Chloe's leash tightly as she wanted to explore everything. It always amazed you how, despite how many times she had seen these sights, taken these walks, she always acted as though it were the first time; it never got old to her.

It took you a few moments to notice Seb's eyes on you as you admired Chloe's spirit. Once you picked up on it, you rammed your shoulder into him playfully.

"What are your staring at weirdo?"

"I don't know what, but once I figure it out I'll let you know."

You mocked offense, but couldn't hold it long as he wrapped his arm around your waist, jabbing your side, tickling you.

"So..."

"'So...' what?"

"Will you be joining my family for the Christmas season?"

"Is that an invitation?"

"Well, I'm fairly certain you've pretty much already been invited without me being the one to extend it."

"This is true, but it's nice to hear it from you as well."

He stopped walking and pulled you back to him. Once you were back beside him, he let go of your hand to wrap his arm around the lower part of your back and pulled your body into his.

"Will you spend Christmas, at least part of it, with me? With my family? ...Please?"

You brought a fist to your chin to pretend you had to think long and hard about it. This caused him to cock an eyebrow at you.

"Well, I don't know, I mean...I may have a better offer come along. I just will have to think about it," you teased.

"Oh really? And what classifies as a better offer, might I ask?"

"Oh, I don't know, a dinner invite from that street performer over there with all the lame jokes."

"Hah. Okay, I see how it is."

Sebastian let go of you immediately and began to stalk forward, putting distance between the two of you. To beat him at his own game, you dashed in between the bushes and into the sidewalk where you could have him in view but he couldn't see you.

He continued to walk away but the force behind it began to lose its power with each step. Sooner or later, when you hadn't caught up with him, he attempted to play off his surprise by stopping at a bench and sitting to tie his shoe while Chloe came back and sat beside him.

He looked back and you could see the confusion spread across his face. He sat back, continuing to play things coolly, but he didn't fool you. It wouldn't be long before he made his way back towards you. After about two minutes, he pulled his phone from his pocket. You quickly silenced your own, knowing you'd receive a text at any second. You had just silenced your phone.

I have a feeling you're watching me from somewhere to be a smartass and if you are I love that about you...but for real, you're okay, right?

You couldn't help but smile...but that didn't mean you were giving up that easy. He knew the lengths you'd go to in order to prove your point. You remained in place watching him. If this had been you almost a year ago and you're almost surprised it wasn't, you surely would have been arrested. You decided to take a quick break from staring Seb down to check for any onlookers, especially those in the police force. You didn't see anyone, thankfully, so you turned your attention back to Sebastian...except he wasn't there. You looked back at your phone, no new texts or calls.

"That's strange," you thought. You debated whether to text him back, but what if he was just continuing to play the game and now hiding from you. What if he could actually see you and that's how he knew to move when he realized you weren't watching him. You definitely had the benefit of not having Chloe attached to you, though, so there was a chance you'd still win this game. You stood there for a few more minutes before deciding to step out of hiding. As you did, you heard a familiar bark and Chloe came bounding to you, leash unattached to a human and she jumped on you until you bent down to her level.

"Hey, girl! Where's your daddy?" She barked in response, but when you looked up, you still didn't see him anywhere. After Chloe had calmed down a bit, you grabbed her leash and she began tugging you in a different direction.

"Chloe! Where's daddy? Let's find your daddy."

She seemed to understand and started to your left. She stopped at the bushes. You looked around before whispering to the bushes, "Seb, if you're hiding in there, please come out because I look a little crazier than normal talking to these bushes." Chloe barked once, but there was no movement in the bushes.

Chloe whined repeatedly after a moment and you could tell from this that Sebastian had been here, but he wasn't here any longer. You looked at Chloe and you could tell she wasn't her normal self anymore. She was as confused as you were and concern was now growing inside the both of you.

Sebastian, I give up. Are you okay? I know it was douchey of me to not answer you so you probably won't want to answer me now, but please?

You waited for two minutes, then you beckoned Chloe to come with you and you started walking the park at a quickened pace. The only thoughts that were coming to your mind were of danger that had befallen Sebastian, not that he was hiding. What if someone had mugged him and beat him up? Okay, that probably wasn't the most logical as Chloe would have probably attacked them. But what if he let her go before as a joke to find you and then was attacked. What if a crazed stalker had knocked him out cold and dragged him off somewhere?

Seb, seriously, where are you? Are you okay?

You walked faster as no reply came through. After about five minutes, you saw a man step into the path from the sidewalk on your left, the familiar gray cabbie hat catching your eye.

He smirked at you, stopping you in your tracks. Your body, full of tense relief sobered your stone cold soul. You walked up to him, no pausing and grasped him into a relieved hug. He pulled you as far into his chest as possible, knowing immediately how upset and worried you had been.

"....I win?" He said, wincing, after a moment.

"I hate you so much."

A song came to his mind as your tone reminded him of that fatal day almost a year ago when he caught you laughing at him falling because of Chloe's excitement at the idea of you two getting coffee:

"I knew I loved you then  
But you'd never know  
'Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go  
I know I needed you  
But I never showed  
But I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old  
Just say you won't let go  
Just say you won't let go"

The two of you stood there for a moment before he ventured to speak again.

"Can I buy you food to make up for worrying you?" He felt a grin begin to form in his chest. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"Well, I could go for some good tiramisu if we're being honest..."

"Let me guess, you want specific Little Italy tiramisu?"

"You mean there are other kinds?"

He rolled his eyes and smiled at the sky. "Fine, let's hop on the train. C'mon. We have to take Chloe back first."

He took your hand in his and pulled you along towards the apartment. You stepped up quickly, taking the leash from him and began to skip through the park, causing Chloe to pick up her pace happily. You heard Sebastian chuckle behind you, but you chose to ignore him. When he finally caught up with the two of you, waiting at the apartment building door, you couldn't help but rub it in that you had to wait on him.

"It's about time, old man."

He stepped back, mouth agape and eyes slightly widened. "It's 8 years, 8 short years! Ya killin' me, smalls."

"Oh, so is that why it took you so long? Because you're the undead?" You followed him into the building, successfully containing your laughter while spewing nothing but sarcasm. You didn't have to see his eyes to know that they were rolling as high as they could go.

"You keep rolling those eyes like that and they're going to roll back into your head and out onto your tongue like in Beetlejuice."

As he turned around after stepping into the elevator, he rolled his eyes at you again, so you chose to mock him and lean up against the elevator wall with a deep sigh.

_____________________

 

On the train back to the apartment, Sebastian's phone buzzed and you caught a glimpse of Chris Evans' face before Seb answered.

"Hey man! How's Cali?"

From the way the conversation flowed, it seemed Chris finished shooting his new film earlier than expected and had gotten back to New York.

"Yeh, everything is good here. (Y/n) is visiting for a few days. We just finished eating in Little Italy."

You heard your name through the phone, Chris asking to speak to you. Sebastian handed you the phone.

"Chris-toe-pher. How are you?"

"I'm great now that I get to speak to such a lovely lady. Shh. Don't tell Sebastian I said that. He'll kill me."

"You're so full of it. How are you really? How did filming go?"

"It went well. I just got back to the city and I had thought about seeing if Seb wanted to hang a bit, but now that I know you're here, I definitely want to hang out."

"Well, that's nice."

"Damn. You're gonna shoot me down that quick. That's cold, little lady."

"Don't call me 'little lady," lame ass."

"I don't remember you being so mean. Maybe I don't want to hang out with you anymore."

"That's fine."

"No, I'm totally kidding. For real. Don't you want to talk Seb into letting you guys come out? I'll even call some of the other folks and see if they want to come out too." You took a deep breath, exaggerated to make sure he heard.

"Who exactly are these 'other folks' you speak of?"

"Hmmm, oh I don't know. Maybe I'll try and give Paul R-"

"Where we meeting?" You cut him off and you could practically hear the accomplishment in his voice.

"So you're in? Just you or are you going to be able to drag Sebastian out as well?"

"He's a grown boy, he can make his own choices." You glanced sideways at Sebastian but could tell he was slightly displeased with the turn of events. "..ahm, we'll let you know for sure shortly. That okay?"

"No. You already said 'yes.' I made the reservations during your last response."

"No, you did not."

"Sure I did, I'm super like that."

You couldn't help but roll your eyes at this. Your voice changed, giving him a quieter and more serious tone.

"Did you really?"

"....no. So I'm guessing I won't be seeing you guys then?"

"I didn't say that." You paused and then continued a little slower paced, "I'll text you okay."

"Alright, do what you can and if he gives you a hard time, let me know." You smiled.

"Sure. Talk to you soon." You hung up before giving the phone back to Sebastian because you didn't want any words to pass between them.

When you handed back the phone Sebastian's jaw was set tight, proving your suspicions correct. He didn't say anything, just took the phone from you and slid it into his pocket. The train stopped and you realized it was time for you to get off. Sebastian stood and exited the train without waiting for you. You let him walk because you could tell this was probably not going to be the best conversation the two of you had shared. You followed him up the steps and down the block to his apartment. By the time you got into the apartment, closing the door behind you, he was sitting on the couch, head laying back and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. You took a deep breath, as quietly as you could, and proceeded his way.

"So, are you frustrated because we were asked last minute, asked by Chris, I said yes without us discussing it, or some other reason that you won't speak to me about?" You couldn't help that your words contained a little bite in them.

"It's nothing." He sighed. "We can just go."

"Well considering you wouldn't even speak to me since before I got off the phone it's clearly something. Just tell me."

"Seriously, it's s fine. If you want to go, let's go."

"You just don't want to fight. That's why you won't tell me."

"Of course, I don't want to fucking fight, (y/n)! You're leaving tomorrow," his voice grew in volume and kicked up about half an octave. He stood from the couch.

"Well, I think it's going to happen either way, so let's just get it over with." You quietly huffed and forced your tone to be as calm as possible.

"It doesn't have to, it's irrational and pointless anyway."

"Seb," you stated quietly, "our worst fights typically are because of irrational and pointless reasons."

"I'm just pissed because, again, Paul seems to take precedence over me," he slightly yelled, exasperated. "If it wasn't you who gives him that precedence, it wouldn't even matter, but because it's you, it does. I don't like that I feel like he's more important than I am. I don't like that I feel like you'd rather spend more time with him, or my friends, than you do me. I don't feel like that often, but sometimes I do and I hate it. I know deep down it isn't true, but that doesn't stop me from feeling this way." By the time he finished, he was no longer loud and forceful. The defeated quietness of his tone and the lines crinkling his face from worry and deflation sunk your heart more than you thought possible. You watched him sink down onto the couch, head in his hands, and you saw a tear fall to the rug. Inside your chest, you could almost feel your heart crack from the pain. You approached him slowly and softly, kneeling down in front of him, slinking your arm around his waist and locking them behind his back in the process.

"Sebastian..." it was going to take you a few seconds to form the words your heart and mind were dying to say. "....I'm...I'm so sorry. I never...ever, meant for it to come off that way. I don't think sometimes because even after all this time, I still get a little star-struck. You'd think I'd be used to it all by now, but clearly, I'm not." You paused. "However, that's no excuse for it. I...you are the most important to me, too, Seba. I hope deep down you know tha-"

"I do, I-," he looked up, tears still remnant in his eyes and he attempted to interrupt as a defense because he knew how much his honesty was hurting you.

"-please let me finish." He nodded in response.

"I hope you know deep down how much I care about you." You paused, knowing that the moment was right, but still partially battling it in your mind. "Shit. I said I wasn't going to do this first because you're going to give me hell for it one day.....I hope you know just how much I love you. I love you, Sebastian, with all of my heart, more than I ever thought I could love anyone." You looked down, for some reason feeling...almost shame, waiting for his response.

You felt his palm delicately cup your chin and jaw line to raise your face back to his level. You couldn't help but raise your eyes in this process to look at his face and take in the looks of it to gauge his reaction. His eyes were still watery, but soft. All of the worries had washed off of it and his color had returned to normal. As silly as it sounds, his face was almost glowing as if some magical staging light had been thrust upon it.

"(Y/n), I've loved you since the day we met...possibly before if that's even possible."

You felt your own eyes begin to mirror his. He leaned in and drew a light kiss from your lips, then another, and another, before a thought came to you and you stopped him. Drawing back, eyes just slits with just the hint of a grin.

"Hold on. Are you telling me you secretly wrote music for Savage Garden? How did I not know this about you? Why have you not told me?"

He looked at you in confusion, waiting for an explanation.

"You knew you loved me before you met me?"

He still looked at you confused. "How does it go?"

You began to sing the chorus of the song to him, feeling as though he'd recognize it quickly and proving your theory correct, his eyes lit up immediately. He then scrunched his face, lips protruding a bit.

"Oh come on! How have I ended up with someone so cheesy? The big guy upstairs and I need to have a chat."

You playfully slapped his shoulder. "Hey, it's the truth. That's what you said!"

"Okay, okay."

You both smiled and you fell into a nostalgic silence, eyes falling to his chest as you recalled the day you two had met.

"I really do love you, you know...and you may have said it first, but I'm fairly certain I felt it first...the only reason I haven't told you before now is that I didn't want you to feel rushed to say it back. I wanted you to work through things on your own timetable."

You started to sing softly:

Baby, let's stay home tonight  
We can put a couple records on  
We can build a fire alright  
Maybe we can dance til dawn  
Everything will be just fine  
Don't even have to put clothes on  
I can keep you warm inside  
Baby, let's stay home tonight

You climbed up onto the couch beside him. You pulled your feet up and to the side, leaning into his right side before you continued.

Lately, we've been walking in a straight line  
Doing our own thing never seem to find time  
We've been going downtown  
Making reservations  
But maybe we just slow down  
See where it can take us

Baby, let's stay home tonight  
We can put a couple records on  
We can build a fire alright  
Maybe we can dance ''til dawn  
Everything will be just fine  
Don't even have to put clothes on  
I can keep you warm inside  
Baby, let's stay home tonight."

He put a finger to your lips to silence you before he picked up where you had left off:

"I know you wanna get dressed up  
But I know who you are girl  
There ain't no need for makeup  
'Cause you're my angel  
And I don't wanna share you  
So why don't we just slow down  
See where it can take us

Baby, let's stay home tonight  
We can put a couple records on  
We can build a fire alright  
Maybe we can dance til dawn  
Everything will be just fine  
Don't even have to put clothes on  
I can keep you warm inside  
Baby, let's stay home tonight."

You joined him to finish the song:

"Baby, let's stay home tonight  
We can put a couple records on  
We can build a fire alright  
Maybe we can dance 'til dawn  
Everything will be just fine  
Don't even have to put clothes on  
I can keep you warm inside  
Baby, let's stay home tonight  
Yeah baby, let's stay home tonight."

"You sure about this?" He asked you, eyebrow raised. You grabbed his phone from his back pocket and found 'Ev-man" in Seb's phone then hit send. Chris answered on the first ring.

"So you talked him into it then? I hope that's what you're calling to say."

Immediately you felt a twinge of guilt because you did want to hang out with Chris and everyone, but you'd rather hang out with Seb.

"No. I think we're going to stay..." Seb nuzzling into your neck, placing light, inaudible kisses on your collar bone distracted you, "in, tonight."

"Nooo, come on (y/n), I had faith in you and now it's dashed."

"Look, I'm sorry, I real-" your giggles cut into the conversation, thanks to Sebastian poking all of your ticklish spots. "I really am."

"(Y/n), please don't tell me y'all are...well...yeah...while we're on the phone."

"Oh my gosh, no!" This made your face turn dark red and push Seb away. "No, we're not doing anything like...that. Seb keeps tickling me, that's all. Look. How about..." you looked at Seb and spoke more slowly into the phone, "maybe we meet...tomorrow...for...brunch?" Seb nodded. "Yeh, will you be not hungover enough tomorrow for brunch? I'm flying out at 2:30 tomorrow. We could meet around 9:15....at...Clinton St.?" Seb reached around your waist, linking his fingers, and pulled you closer to him.

"Sure, I can do that."

"Awesome. We'll see you in the morning." You hung up the phone just in time so that Chris didn't have to listen to the deep kiss that followed ending the call.

\--------------------------

The following morning, you awoke before Sebastian and crawled out of bed as gently as you possibly could do not to wake him. You grabbed the set-aside clothes to change into and headed for the shower. You heard the bathroom door open shortly afterward.

"Good morning, bee!"

"Bee," you asked from under the raindrop shower, your voice elevating at the end.

"Bee for beautiful," his voice came from just outside the shower curtain.

You stuck your head out of the shower with squished checks and said "really?"

"Yes, really," he replied and snagged a quick kiss. "Do you need me to do anything to help you get ready?"

"I'm assuming you mean packing," you sarcastically answered, going back into the shower while layering the loofa with soap. There was a pause.

"Uhh, yeah?" He really had meant only packing. You realized that now. You started laughing.

"What's so funny," he questioned.

"Nothing, babe. Don't worry about it." You stuck your head back out of the shower, reaching out with your hand and rubbing his head like a small child. "I think I'm good. If you see anything, just toss it in my bag, please."

"Well, not to rush you, hun, but we've got to be at Clinton St. in about 30 minutes in case you weren't aware." You panicked.

"WHAT!? Seb, it takes at least 20 minutes to get there! Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"I didn't want to disturb you. You seemed so peacef-" You cut off the shower and interrupted him.

"Can you hand me my towel, please?"

"What are you gonna do if I don't?" He teased.

"Sebastian! Now is not the time."

"That's not an answer."

"I'm going to punch you in the thorax! Hand me the towel....please!?"

"In order to punch me, you'd have to reach me."

You began to whine as much as you hated it. "Seb, please, I've got to get ready!"

"It's just Chris. You don't have to get all fancied up," he handed you a towel through the shower curtain. You wrapped it around you and stepped out, rushing to the mirror.

"No, I don't have to get fancied up, but I would like to look presentable. With it being cold outside, I have no choice but to dry my hair so that I don't get sick. I won't take long, but I need to get a move on. In order to do that, you need to move it on," you motioned for him to leave.

He stopped with one foot out of the door and turned. "What are you wanting to wear. I'll bring it in here for you."

You looked at him, your gaze softening and a smile warmed your cheeks. "Thank you, Sebastian. Just some jeans and a decent shirt will be fine." You began to dry your hair as he returned and you thanked him again on his way out the door.

It wasn't long and you were both saying goodbye to Chloe and out the door, headed for the restaurant. Luckily, by the time you arrived, Chris had already gotten a table. The place was always packed but in New York, you only had so much attention drawn to "celebrities." Chris rose from the corner booth to hug you. It was one of those tight hugs, one so large that it lifted you off the ground a little.

"I've missed you too, Chris," you squelched out as he placed you back on the ground before releasing you.

"Hey man!" Chris reached out and pulled Sebastian by the neck into himself. They did the straight man, two back tap bro hug. You stood admiring the love they held for each other.

"Here, you guys sit in the booth. I just wanted you guys to be able to see me when you came in."

You both followed orders and sat. The waitress quickly came over to take the order. As she walked away, Chris began to fill the two of you in on what you had missed the previous night.

He kept up with the most of the conversation until the food came. There was a halt in conversation as everyone was quite hungry and the food incredibly tasty. About halfway through, Chris broached a mood dimming subject. "So you leave out today,(y/n)? I hate to hear that. I wish we could all have more time to hang out a bit."

"Trust me, Chris, I'd much rather stick around here and hang out," you felt Seb tap your knee comfortingly so you snuck your hand down and into his, eyes tearing just enough for it to be noticeable, "but I have to get back to work. I have to be back at 6:45 tomorrow."

"You know, that really is torture."

"It does suck sometimes...pretty much every morning, in fact, but you get used to it, well sort of. I guess just as much as you guys get used to a 5am call time after not finishing filming until 3am, right?" They both chuckled in response. 

"Yeh, I guess so," Chris offered.

The brunch finished out with many laughs and enjoyable moments, just the thing you needed before hopping on a plane alone, back home.


	19. The Misstep

The next day was hell. You were late for work from being so tired. The kids were crazy from all the sweets they had eaten over break, and you wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up into Sebastian's arms...but that would be a while. Either way, the day passed, you went home and fell asleep on the couch for the rest of the evening. When you awoke at 4 am, you saw you had five missed calls and two voicemails, all from Sebastian.

"Hey, it's me. I just wanted to see how your first day back went. I hope the kids didn't drive you too crazy. Call me back when you get the chance, please. I miss your voice and your voicemail is so...I don't know...professional...sounding that it isn't true enough to you. I love you." That voicemail was from 5:30 pm. The second came in at 10:30.

"I get it. You're exhausted. You've been sleeping all afternoon and surely are still asleep now. I'm happy you're able to catch up on some sleep anyway. I'm going to be heading to sleep soon myself so I hope I'll talk with you tomorrow. If you do wake up tonight, please call me anyway. I'll wake up, promise. If not, I'll call you tomorrow at 3 on the dot, okay? I love you, (y/n)."

You mentally argued with yourself whether to call him now or not. You decided with yes because honestly, you didn't want to wait until 3. The phone rang twice before a gruff and groggy, sleep filled voice picked up.

"Hello?"

"I've missed that voice."

"Babe! You finally awoke from your slumber!" His voice was no longer that groggy sleep filled voice you adored, but his excitement was pretty great to take in as well so you settled for it.

"I did. I'm sorry I missed your calls."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you were able to get some rest. I take that it was a bit of a rough day?"

"Just a little bit, but it's gotten better."

"Because you got some sleep?"

"That's part of it, yes."

"And the other part is talking to your man?" He chuckled, knowing he was right.

"No, because I won the lottery that I don't even play. Yes, because of you silly goose. Look, I'm not going to keep you long because I know you were sleeping, but I just wanted to call you back and talk with you for a minute."

"I'm awake now," he attempted to keep you from hanging up.

"Well, I may want to try and get another hour of sleep or so."

"Right. Sorry. That makes sense, of course."

"Seb. There's no need to say sorry. I think I am gonna go, though. I'll text you later in the morning, okay?"

"Okay. I love you." You felt yourself blush a little. It was still new enough to do that to you.

"I love you, Sebastian. I'll talk to you later."

You hung up and fell quickly asleep, with a smile on your face.

________

Two and a half weeks passed quickly and you were thanking God every day. Normally because each day put you closer to an extended break away from work and students, but this year it also put you one day closer to being back with him, the man that had come into your life unexpectedly and turned it a little sideways, in the best way possible. On December 13, you got together with your family to celebrate your mother's birthday. You had no idea that a pertinent and serious conversation would be had on such a joyous occasion.

You arrived at the restaurant shortly before your parents. Your mother had chosen her favorite Chinese restaurant to eat at as she did not get the chance to eat it as often as she'd like. As you sat in your car, your phone whistled at you, alerting you of a text. It was Sebastian.

We've been shooting all day. I'm sorry I don't have time to call. I wanted to remind you (like you need it) that you only have one more day! You can do this. You've got this, babe! P.S. Wish your mother a "happy birthday" from me please and tell your father I said "hello" as well. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you!

You read the text and couldn't help but smile. How was he so thoughtful? An even better question, how was he yours? You answered, knowing he probably wouldn't see it for a few hours, but maybe it'd be a nice goodnight message before he fell asleep.

No, I don't need the reminder hahaha, but I appreciate the sentiment and the faith that I can make it. Don't apologize for being busy. It's your job and I understand completely. I will give them your message and I can't wait to talk to you tomorrow. I love you. Sleep well!

You heard vehicle doors shutting beside you. You looked up and saw your parents beside your car. You cut the music, closed the messaging app and slid your phone into your bag as you stepped out of the vehicle. You retrieved the present and card from the backseat then finally stepped onto the sidewalk entry to the restaurant. You received a hug from your parents and let them enter the restaurant first. You sat, ordered, and conversed about your days and the time that had passed since Thanksgiving. You caught them up on your trip up to see Sebastian by the end of the meal. You tagged on at the end Seb's message to both of your parents.

"I'm glad you brought him up," your dad said, tone serious. You noticed the edge in his voice...not this again.

"He has a name dad. Aren't we past this yet?"

"Past what exactly," he asked.

"This irrational hatred you have for him. All he's ever been is overly cordial any time that you two have spoken. You haven't even met him for crying out loud."

"Yes, that's the problem."

______

The next day, you received a call on your way home and when "Seeba" popped up on your stereo screen, you squealed before picking up the call. You had been waiting with excited anticipation.

"Hey!!! Oh my gosh! Hey! How are you!?" Your voice had excelled a couple of octaves. You couldn't control your joy for the upcoming moments.

"Wow...my ear hurts a little now. Someone is excited to be finished for a few weeks."

"Yes, of course," you worked on getting your voice as close to normal as possible. "However, you didn't answer my question."

"Oh sorry. Well, I'm speaking with my favorite person so I'm doing much better than I was a few minutes ago."

"Your favorite person? Oh, is Mackie attached to your hip today?" You heard him fake gag and you couldn't hold aside your laughter. "I can sense your rolling eyes through the phone."

"Well I may not be dead, but you must have a true sixth sense because you are correct, my dear."

You both took a few minutes to catch up on the events of the past few days as you hadn't been able to talk much. The indie film that Sebastian was working on had to be shot in 14 days so there wasn't much free time. After a few minutes, you got unusually quiet and this was a point that Sebastian did not miss.

"Is something wrong? You're unusually quiet."

"I'm fine. I ahh...well...I need to talk to you about something. Something serious and unexpected." There was silence on his end. You could feel the nerves coming through the phone.

"Ah, Okay, give me a second. I want to walk over here where there isn't anyone so that I can't be distracted." About thirty seconds passed. "Okay. What's up?"

"Well....you know I went to dinner with my parents last night." He hummed in acknowledgment. He realized from your tone, this was not the time to interrupt. "Well I was telling them about my trip up at Thanksgiving and I told them you said hello and stuff....well....my dad then says that he was glad that I brought you up..." You stopped and waited, so he said: "he still hates me, huh?"

"Well....as I told him, he hasn't even met you..."

"(Y/n), I don't think it's going to matter whether he meets me or not. I'm starting to think he's always going to hate me, or at the very least dislike me. Hell, we could probably get married, have kids, and grow old together and he'd still hate me until one of us left the world." He sounded exasperated and you felt bad. You knew the idea that your dad didn't like him bothered him. Anytime your dad was brought up, Seb tended to close up a little bit and become somewhat distant and thoughtful. Once, you asked him where he was at mentally. His response was simple: "Trying to figure out what I can do to make your father like me, or at least tolerate me."

"Well...to be transparent here. I actually have a question for you. I'm unsure exactly how it will work, but they want both of us to join them for Christmas. My dad asked personally for you to join the family for the holidays." His silence made you nervous and you began to speak more quickly. "He said it was a problem that he hadn't met you yet. In fact, the more I listened to him, I think he's more upset that they haven't met you than anything else. That plus, I'm fairly certain that think you're going to talk me into moving away at some point...even though, we both know, you wouldn't have to talk me into anything. I'd move in a split second if I could. Anyways, that's off the topic. I know that things have been somewhat stressful for you with my dad ever since..well...ever, so I completely understand if you're hesitant or don't want to come...to maybe, I don't know, wait a little longer, or wait until a less stressful time. Maybe like a Tuesday? For a short lunch? I don't know. Besides, I don't know what your family does for the holidays exactly. They may occur at the same times and I couldn't ask you to be away from your family when you already see them so little. No...I couldn't do that. And I think my family would understand, I really do. They may not like it, but they'd understand but that's beside the point. I don't know Sebastian, it's completely up to you. I told them I am planning to spend some time with you and your family, so I guess I should have figured out before what all that entailed and stuff, to not overbook myself, but at this point, I don't know. I'm rambling."

Before you could continue you heard a smile in his voice when he said: "yes, yes, you are."

You chuckled, "shit. I'm sorry. I just...I don't know why I feel so nervous to bring all of this up."

"I think the biggest question here is one for you to answer, not me."

You scrunched your face in confusion with his statement. "Me?"

"Yes, you. The real question here is...do YOU want me to meet your family yet? Do you want me to visit ith your family during Christmas? Is that something you're...ready for?" The earnestness and hint of worry in his voice made you sad.

"Seb...of course I want that. I'm not just saying that. I'd love for my family to finally be able to fall in love with you like I have...well...maybe not just like I have. I may have some run ins with my family if that were the case." He huffed a laugh at that.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, of course. So you're saying you'll join," your voice returning to its two octaves higher pitch on the last word, excitement rushing into your being once again.

"Yes, of course."

"Great!! Oh my gosh, Seb. You're going to meet my family! Seb...oh, my gosh..." a minor freak-out snuck up on you. "You're going to meet my family," all of the ways they could embarrass you flashed across your mind at once. "I'm going to go ahead and apologize for anything that could possibly be said that's offensive and please ignore any embarrassing things they may decide to bring up? Don't forget my family is Southern born and raised."

"Babe, (y/n), it's going to be okay. If you change your mind, I won't take offense, but if you're in this for the long haul, it's probably a good idea to meet them and get to know them. Every family has its quirks. It'll all be okay."

You couldn't speak momentarily because the only three words you could focus on were "the long haul." Had he really just said that? What exactly was "the long haul" to him? You knew what it meant to you. It meant permanent. It meant marriage. It meant sticking out until death do you part.

"(Y/n)? You still there?" No sound. "Hello? (Y/n), did I lose you?" You still couldn't muster any sound. The call ended. The phone rang again, but you knew you still couldn't talk during the first rings. Just before it went to voicemail, you were able to muster up some volume. You cleared your throat as you answered.

"Hey. The call just ended. Sorry."

"It's fine, I was just worried something happened. You're driving, right?"

"Uhh, yeh, driving. Driving home. I'm almost there, though."

"Is everything okay?"

Yeh," you lied, adding a smile for emphasis despite that he couldn't see you. "Yeh, I'm great."

______

Everything worked out perfectly as Seb's family had planned on mixing Christmas and New Years celebrations putting their festivities on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. At 6 am on Christmas Eve morning, you climbed out of bed, grabbed your bag, and drove up to RDU to meet Sebastian. After picking him up, the two of you headed back to your place.

"Since we don't have to leave until 3:30, how much would you hate crawling back in bed for a nap?"

"I wouldn't mind one bit, in fact, I'd love that." You crawled back into bed as he stripped down to his underwear and wifebeater. He crawled in bed beside you and snuck his arms around you, pulling you tight into his own body.

"Now this is perfect." You both smiled and fell asleep immediately.

The alarm went off and you two were soon dressed and ready and headed for your family's.

When you pulled into the driveway and parked, you grabbed Sebastian's hand, nerves racing through your body for the both of you. "Are you ready?"

He looked over to you and flashed you a teeth-filled grin. "Any reason I shouldn't be?"

"I don't even know, Seeba. All I have to say is....I love you and if they don't, they're crazier than I thought and it won't change anything." He leaned over to place a featherweight kiss on your lips. When you parted lips, your eyes remained closed momentarily, relishing the kiss. When your eyes parted, you saw your dad standing on the back porch, arms crossed, clearly knowledgeable of what had just occurred.

"Crap." You whispered. "My dad just saw that."

Sebastian looked down and huffed. "Shit. Did he really?"

His reaction made you giggle, undeterred by the tension in the air. "Yep." You smiled, bringing a mirroring smile from Sebastian. He sighed deeply, "well, it's now or never." He got out of the car and rushed to your side to open the door for you. Once out of the vehicle, you grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. Once you reached the porch, your dad remained at the top of the steps, arms crossed until you stepped in first for a hug, hopefully, to soften his callous composure. "Hey, Daddy!"

Sebastian stepped up second and stuck out his hand. "Mr. (y/l/n), I'm Sebastian. It's such a pleasure to finally meet you. I do apologize that it has taken this long for us to meet. (Y/n) has had nothing but great things to tell me about you and the rest of the family."

"It has taken a while. Nice to meet you as well, Sebastian. Come in, please." You led the way into your childhood home. The rest of the family, uncles, aunt, cousins, grandfather, and mother were a lot less difficult to persuade how great Seb was. Your mother already loved him from the get-go. Sometimes you wondered if you would have to somewhat fight her for him one day. Your family seemed to adore Sebastian quickly. He was charming, of course, despite his nerves and quiet manner, which actually just made him more endearing.

Most of the attention was put on Sebastian for the remainder of the afternoon. Luckily, he would get a bit of a break when things changed up and it was time to head over to your mother's side of the family. You were relieved that, for at least 20-30 minutes, Sebastian would get a mental break as you knew he was attempting his best to make the best impression possible, even though you had told him multiple times all he needed to do was be himself.

"Why don't you guys ride with us," your mom offered.

"That's okay. I think we'll drive separate. We may head back earlier. It's a bit of a drive back from grandma's."

"You aren't staying the night at the house," your dad asked, surprised.

This was a position you were hoping not to be put in. Awkwardness filled the air. You cleared your throat as quietly as possible. "Seb, do you mind going and cranking the car and letting it warm up?" Your dad didn't miss this purposeful dismissal. Your mother had to finish getting ready so she left the room as well. Once Sebastian was out the door, you broached this prospectively touchy subject with your dad.

"No, we weren't planning on staying the night. We were just going to drive back in the morning. Well, technically we haven't discussed it. I made those plans for Sebastian and me, but it makes the most sense."

"Why does it make the most sense" he pushed.

"Well...I mean, that twin bed is fine for me, but Sebastian is here too."

"He can sleep on the couch just fine, can't he? Or is he too high class for that?" That question shocked you and angered you simultaneously. You struggled to not let your anger shine through, instead, remaining calm. You did not want to argue with your dad, especially on Christmas Eve. You cleared your throat again.

"No, he isn't too 'high class' for sleeping on a couch, however, he is a guest, and I don't want to ask him to do that."

"You can sleep on the couch and he can sleep on the bed. Why wouldn't that work?" Your frustration was beginning to show and you knew it.

"Daddy, we're not," you heard the back door open so you continued quietly, "staying here tonight. We're going to my place and we'll be back tomorrow." Sebastian entered on the last syllable. Your dad looked at him with annoyance in his eyes. He didn't say anything else, simply went to their car, cranked it and didn't move.

"I'll be right back." You went to let your mom know your dad wasn't in the best of moods and seemed that he wouldn't be back inside.

"Just bear with him, okay. He doesn't want you to get hurt, that's all. He's worried that's going to happen. He doesn't want to dislike him, he just...no one will ever be good enough for you I suspect. If it helps, I think he's great. I'm very happy for you as long as you're happy."

"I'm very happy, Mama." She pulled you in close.

"I know you are. Your daddy does too. I really do think he's trying, believe it or not. You know how stubborn he can be."

"Based off of my stubbornness, yes, I know exactly how stubborn he can be."

You both left the bathroom and headed back to the living room where you had left Sebastian. He was sitting quietly on the couch, in fact, he had fallen asleep. Your mother smiled and headed for the back door. "See you there in a few," she whispered. You smiled back at her and waited to hear the back door close. You leaned over and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. His eyelids fluttered open.

"You ready, sleepyhead?"

He rolled his eyes before closing them and slamming his head into the cushions on the back of the couch "I didn't go to sleep, did I?"

"Just for a second. Come on, the quicker we get over there, the quicker we can head home." The corner of his mouth lifted and a dimple popped up.

"That sounds lovely."

"What sleep?"

"Well, yes, but....'home'. 'We' can head 'home.'" Your eyes warmed, as did his.

"I love you so much, Seb."

"I love you more."

"Tie for first?" He rolled his eyes but nodded to placate you.

The two of you headed out the door and for the vehicle. Seb headed for the driver side, but you stopped him.

"I'll drive."

"No, it's fine. I should chauffeur you."

"Seb. It's my own car. I pay for the thing. I can drive it whenever I want to. Plus, I'm not the one who was just taking a snooze. Oh, and not to mention, I don't think you're used to country backroads at night."

"You make me sound like I'm helpless."

"You pretty much are a big baby," you teased, winking at him.

"I'll remember that when you want to be cuddled like a baby on a cold winter night," he tossed back. You scoffed as you both got into the vehicle and headed for your grandparents. When you arrived, you stopped Sebastian before he got out.

"Just in case I haven't warned you, or warned you enough, all my grandad does is joke around. He is probably going to say some things that are funny but borderline inappropriate and possibly somewhat offensive...but he doesn't mean anything he says, okay. He may give you a hard time, not like my dad is giving you a hard time, but just remember that." It was Sebastian's turn to grab your hand and squeeze it reassuringly.

"I'll be fine, but I appreciate the concern and warning." He stepped out and circled the car to help you out. You took a deep breath so he grabbed your hand as you two walked up to the door. When you walked in, the smell of slow cooked ham, creamed corn, and chicken pastry hit your nostrils and your mouth began to water.

"I didn't even warn you about how great the food is," you whispered to Sebastian over your shoulder. He smirked because you could tell he was taking in and enjoying the scent as much as you were. Your grandmother saw you walk in and grabbed you first.

"Hey there, shug!" She hugged you tightly and began one of her famous back scratching hugs. She was your only surviving grandmother and you had to savor every moment you had left with her. When she let you go, she said "is this the young man I've been hearing so much about" in Sebastian's direction.

He smiled graciously, "I hope it is, ma'am. I'm Sebastian, how are you?" He stuck out his hand, but your grandmother pulled him in for a hug as well.

"It's good to have you with us, Sebastian. Please make yourself at home."

"Thank you, it smells amazing."

"I'm glad to hear that. It'll be ready in just a few moments."

As the exchange happened, you couldn't help but notice that all of your male cousins, grandfather, and uncles were actually paying attention to the stranger, which typically never happened. Your cousins, you were fairly certain, recognized him, but they were questioning it. It made you laugh.

You took him into the den first to meet the female side of the family and any kids who weren't actually running around the house. You introduced him and while he was chatting, you could hear your cousins giving your dad a hard time in the living room.

"Who's that guy with (y/n), (your dad's name)? He's a nice looking dude. You didn't tell us (y/n) had herself a fancy boyfriend..."

You tried to contain your laughter, knowing it would throw those around you. You led him through to the living room to introduce him to the male counterparts. Your father rose and left the room as you began to introduce Sebastian to everyone. You gave him an evil eye which he must have felt through his back. He turned and said quietly, "Sebastian, you can have that seat," before he went out the back door. You sighed and put a smile back on the face. Sebastian let you sit in the seat and sat on the floor in front of you.

"So let me guess, man, (your dad's name) is giving you a hard time about dating (y/n)," one of your older cousins threw out there. That was one thing about this side of your family, they lacked any and all tact. They said what they thought and that was it, even if it was useless and stupid, they would say it.

"Not too bad, no. (Y/n) is the man's only daughter and she's an amazing woman, I can't say I wouldn't be the same way if I were in his position."

"So It's A Wonderful Life isn't on tonight?" You asked, attempting a subject change. Thankfully they got the hint and after a moment or two of conversation, that halted and everyone looked at the screen instead, A Christmas Carol drawing everyone's attention in seemingly. After a few moments, your grandmother announced that dinner was ready and for everyone to line up and fix their plate. You and Seb let everyone else line up. Your mom circled around and came through the living room and found the two of you.

"Have you seen Daddy," you asked her. She shook her head and stepped into line. You leaned down and whispered in Seb's ear.

"Do you think you'll be fine if I leave you to the wolves for a few minutes? I want to go find my dad." He nodded and you gave him a peck on the lips. "Thanks. Get some food. I'll be right back. You stood and headed for the back door.

You found your dad outside leaning against his car, looking at the sky, seeming to ponder the entire universe.

"Daddy, the food is ready. Why don't you come in and eat?"

He acknowledged you with a simple, "I'll be in in a minute."

You began to walk away but decided against it. You couldn't continue to let this awkwardness hang. You'd rather go ahead and get it all out there and try to be done with it. You turned back and faced your dad.

"How can you not like Sebastian? He's done all he can to impress you. He has been nothing but considerate, kind, and flexible in order to make you and the rest of the family happy with him and happy for me. He has made me happier than I ever thought I could be for the past year. He has never treated me poorly. Sure we've had arguments and fights, but that's normal. He has done nothing but treat me like a valuable treasure. He tries to do everything he can to make me happy. If this is about him taking so long to meet you all, I never invited him to do so. Y'all never invited him to do so. I met his family because he asked me to and because they asked to meet me. You can't blame him for something that isn't his fault. You can't hold that against him. I...I love him, Daddy, and I'm sure he's going to be around for a little while at least, so can you please let go of whatever grudge this is you have against him? I can't put him in a position like this. He won't be back if this is what treatment he's going to receive." He finally looked at you.

"I don't have a grudge against him. I...I don't think anyone will ever be good enough in my eyes for you. You're...too good. You have too good of a heart...and I don't want him hurting you by coming into your life, you get used to him, and then him disappearing because he has the privilege of being able to do that. I agree with you that he seems to have been very forth giving and considerate based off of what I've seen. It's just....it's tough to watch my only little girl...and feel like she's being taken away from me, or that she will be taken away from me. I...(y/n), that's going to be very tough for me if he ever takes you away." Tears were filling his eyes. You stepped into his arms.

"Daddy, I love you, and I'm not going to lie to you if this works out, in the long run, I probably will move...but honestly, I think you and I both know I 'm not going to stay around here forever no matter what happens."

"I...I guess I do know that...it just...he makes such an easy scapegoat to blame, doesn't he?"

You couldn't help but start laughing, causing him to do the same.

"Now, I'm freezing, and I'm dying for some of grandma's chicken pastry, so let's go in, please."


End file.
